Inventory gain, super-normal marketing margin may lift BPCL and HPCL numbers

MUMBAI: State-run Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) will be reporting their Q4 numbers today. Though inventory gains, super-normal marketing margins and forex gains (stronger INR) during the fourth quarter mean a spectacular quarter for these companies, weak refining margins and debt may weigh on the quarterly performance.

Analysts expect these companies to report higher earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) led by ₹3.75 a litre of increase in marketing margins for auto fuels amid a quarter-on-quarter decline in global product prices and a sharp $14 per barrel increase in end-period crude price.