BPCL outperforms rival PSUs in Q1, records industry-best per-pump sales

State-owned fuel retailers reported bumper profits in the June quarter, as a freeze on retail prices boosted petrol and diesel margins, offsetting earlier inventory losses.

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) reported a combined profit of Rs 16,184 crore in April-June, the first quarter of FY26 - more than two-and-a-half times higher year-on-year, according to regulatory filings by the companies.

Among the three, BPCL led with a Rs 6,124 crore profit, surpassing IOC's Rs 5,689 crore, despite being nearly half its size. HPCL posted a net profit of Rs 4,371 crore in Q1.

BPCL also fared well on refining margins, earning $4.88 in turning every barrel of crude oil into fuels like petrol and diesel. This was better than the USD 2.15 per barrel gross refining margin of IOC and the USD 3.08 of HPCL. Its refinery run rate at 118 per cent (of installed capacity) was higher than 107 per cent of IOC and 10.9 per cent of HPCL.

At 153 kilolitre per month, BPCL sold more fuel per pump than its other public sector rivals. IOC had a throughput of 130 per kl per retail out in Q1.

The bumper earnings in April-June were buoyed by the retailers' earning an estimated Rs 10.3 per litre margin on petrol sale (Rs 4.4 a year earlier) and Rs 8.2 per litre on diesel (Rs 2.5 last year), according to brokerage ICICI Securities.

This after the three kept retail rates steady despite a 21 per cent drop in input crude oil prices and a 16-18 per cent reduction in benchmark international fuel rates.

The extraordinary marketing margin helped offset inventory losses that arose from the fall in crude oil prices between the time it was procured and turned into fuel for sale.

IOC alone booked an inventory loss of Rs 6,465 crore in the June quarter against a gain of Rs 3,345 crore in the year-ago period. After adjusting for inventory losses, its gross refining margin (GRM) should have been USD 6.91 per barrel compared to USD 2.84 last year.

HPCL had an inventory loss of about Rs 2,000 crore in the quarter.

The companies registered profits despite the unpaid LPG subsidy. While the government has announced Rs 30,000 crore as a subsidy to cover the losses the three firms suffered on selling cooking gas at rates lower than their cost, the modalities of payments are yet to be announced. In the absence, the three booked losses on LPG - Rs 3,719 crore by IOC, Rs 2,076 crore by BPCL and Rs 2,148 crore by HPCL.