Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) gained 4.2 per cent to Rs 225 on the BSE on Friday after the state-run oil refiner’s consolidated profit before tax (PBT) more-than-doubled for the first quarter (Q1) of 2020-21 to Rs 3,119.7 crore, compared to Rs 1,301.4 crore during the April-June period of 2019-20 (FY20) — up 140 per cent. The rise in PBT was mainly owing to inventory gains and higher capacity utilisation in refineries.
The stock, however, erased gains and was quoting 0.74 per cent lower at Rs 215 apiece on the BSE at 10:34 am. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was at 37,978.34 level, down 47 points or 0.12 per cent. A combined 11.5 million shares had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.
