State-owned oil marketing company (OMC) BPCL reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 28 billion for the April-June quarter (Q1) of FY25, reflecting a 73.2% decrease compared to Rs 106 billion in the corresponding quarter of FY24. Sequentially, BPCL's net profit fell by 40.6% from Rs 478 billion in the preceding quarter.

Revenue from operations in Q1FY25 marginally decreased by 0.1% to Rs 1.28 trillion, while total expenses rose by 8.5% to Rs 1.25 trillion. The reduction in net profit for Q1 was attributed to lower gross marketing margins on petrol and diesel, which decreased to an average of Rs 6.8 per barrel (/bbl) from Rs 9.3/bbl in the preceding quarter, according to a note by Elara Securities.

BPCL's average gross refining margin (GRM) for Q1FY25 was $7.86 per barrel, down from $12.64 in Q1FY24. GRM represents the earnings refiners make from turning each barrel of crude oil into refined fuel products. Market sales for the state refiner during the quarter were 13.16 million metric tonnes (MMT), compared to 12.75 MMT in the corresponding period of FY24, indicating a growth of 3.22%.

BPCL announced that it achieved its highest-ever average ethanol blending percentage of 14.14% during the quarter. The company added 171 new fuel stations in Q1FY25, bringing their network to 22,011 stations. Additionally, BPCL expanded its LPG distributor network by adding five new distributors, reaching a total of 6,255, and increased its customer base to 9.33 crore.

Despite the dip in profits for the latest quarter, BPCL's consolidated annual net profit surged by 1,160% to a record high of Rs 268 billion in FY24, up from Rs 213 billion in FY23. This substantial increase is widely attributed to continuous discounts on an increasing volume of Russian crude supplies.