New Delhi: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) reported a standalone net loss of Rs 3,962.13 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Q1 FY27), reversing a net profit of Rs 6,123.93 crore in the year-ago quarter and Rs 3,191.49 crore in the preceding January-March quarter. The quarter captured the period of the West Asia crisis, during which state fuel retailers held down prices of petrol, diesel and LPG and passed on only nominal increases to consumers.
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On a consolidated basis, the net loss was smaller at Rs 1,872.70 crore, against a profit of Rs 6,839.02 crore a year earlier and Rs 5,624.54 crore in the March quarter. The consolidated loss was lower than the standalone loss because a one-off exceptional gain and a profit from BPCL's upstream business, both absent from the standalone accounts, reduced the group figure.
BPCL attributed the quarter's loss to its marketing business. In its notes to the results, the corporation stated that the loss was "mainly due to suppressed marketing margin on certain petroleum products which was partially offset by higher refining margin." The corporation did not disclose a gross refining margin figure in the filing.
Standalone total income rose 23 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,60,732.72 crore, from Rs 1,30,326.60 crore, and 18 percent over the Rs 1,35,960.14 crore reported in the March quarter. Revenue from operations rose about 23 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,59,479.28 crore. Against that, total expenses climbed 36 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,66,037.90 crore. Cost of materials consumed rose 69 percent to Rs 90,588.10 crore, and purchase of stock-in-trade rose 60 percent to Rs 65,348.26 crore. Standalone operating margin turned negative at -4.11 percent, against 5.72 percent a year earlier; net profit margin was -2.48 percent, against 4.73 percent.
At the pre-tax level, BPCL recorded a standalone loss of Rs 5,305.18 crore, against a profit of Rs 8,156.50 crore in Q1 FY26. A deferred tax credit of Rs 1,343.05 crore reduced the bottom-line loss to Rs 3,962.13 crore. Other income rose to Rs 1,253.44 crore, from Rs 748.71 crore a year earlier, and included a foreign exchange gain of Rs 345.62 crore, against Rs 19.88 crore a year earlier.
Standalone total comprehensive loss was Rs 4,196.95 crore, against comprehensive income of Rs 6,417.26 crore in Q1 FY26. Basic and diluted earnings per share (not annualised) was -Rs 9.27, against Rs 14.33 a year earlier and Rs 7.47 in the March quarter.
The consolidated loss of Rs 1,872.70 crore was cushioned by three items absent from, or smaller in, the standalone accounts. First, the consolidated results carried an exceptional gain of Rs 1,884.56 crore, described in the notes as a reclassification of Foreign Currency Translation Reserve to the profit and loss statement on conversion of a joint venture to a subsidiary. This followed BPRL Ventures BV, a subsidiary of wholly-owned arm Bharat PetroResources Ltd (BPRL), acquiring the remaining stake in IBV Brasil Petroleo Limitada from Videocon Energy Brazil, for a consideration of Rs 2,312 crore, making IBV an indirect subsidiary effective June 30 this year. Second, the group recorded a share of profit of equity accounted investees of Rs 401.13 crore. Third, BPRL reported a net profit of Rs 1,890.13 crore for the quarter.
Excluding the exceptional gain, the consolidated pre-tax loss would have been about Rs 5,100 crore, against the reported consolidated pre-tax loss of Rs 3,215.64 crore, an indication of how far the one-off item lifted the group number.
BPCL's segment disclosures show the divergence between its two businesses. The downstream petroleum segment — refining and marketing — recorded a loss of Rs 5,919.53 crore, against a positive Rs 8,060.47 crore a year earlier. The exploration and production of hydrocarbons segment recorded a profit of Rs 2,084.10 crore, up from Rs 819.24 crore a year earlier. The upstream segment's gain partially offset the downstream loss at the group level, a cushion available on the consolidated statement rather than the standalone one.
Refinery throughput was 10.15 million metric tonnes (MMT) in the June quarter, against 10.42 MMT a year earlier and 10.40 MMT in the March quarter. Domestic market sales were 13.62 MMT, against 13.58 MMT a year earlier and 13.86 MMT in the March quarter. Export sales were 0.51 MMT, against 0.45 MMT a year earlier. Domestic market sales growth slowed to 0.29 percent, against 3.19 percent a year earlier and 3.28 percent in the March quarter.
Standalone outstanding debt (excluding lease liabilities) rose to Rs 17,396.42 crore as on June 30, 2026, from Rs 10,480.09 crore at end-March — an increase of about Rs 6,916 crore, or 66 percent. Standalone net worth eased to Rs 91,035.79 crore, from Rs 95,232.74 crore, a fall of about Rs 4,197 crore, or 4 percent. The debt-equity ratio rose to 0.19 times, from 0.11 times at end-March. Interest service coverage and debt service coverage were both reported as negative for the quarter, against 41.39 times and 3.54 times respectively for FY26. The current ratio eased to 0.83 times, from 0.89 times.
On a consolidated basis, outstanding debt rose to Rs 53,774.61 crore, from Rs 43,481.91 crore at end-March, an increase of about Rs 10,293 crore, or 24 percent, and net worth eased to Rs 96,320.83 crore, from Rs 1,00,170.26 crore. The consolidated debt-equity ratio rose to 0.56 times, from 0.43 times.
BPCL's disclosures on LPG under-recoveries mirror the wider pattern across state fuel retailers. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), through letters dated October 3 and 24, 2025, approved compensation of Rs 7,594.00 crore towards under-recoveries on sale of domestic LPG up to March 31, 2025 and likely to be incurred up to March 31, 2026, to be disbursed in 12 equal monthly instalments from November 2025. During the quarter, BPCL recognised three instalments aggregating Rs 1,898.49 crore under Revenue from Operations, after recognising five instalments totalling Rs 3,164.15 crore during FY26.
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Separately, the cumulative net negative buffer that remains unrecognised rose to Rs 15,803.74 crore as on June 30, 2026, from Rs 12,318.52 crore at end-March, an increase of about Rs 3,485 crore over the quarter. The board did not declare or recommend a dividend alongside the results.