Bharat Coking Coal swings to operating loss as costs outrun revenue
Operating margin fell 11.42 percentage points QoQ, while a surge in other income and a tax credit kept the company marginally profitable.
Filed 22 Apr 2026, 22:19 IST · after market close · Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BHARATCOAL)
Key takeaways
- Standalone operating profit swung to a loss of Rs 335.26 cr as expenses grew +31.62% QoQ, faster than revenue at +17.97%.
- Other income of Rs 556.55 cr equalled 2,938.49% of pre-tax profit, making the Rs 27.28 cr net profit heavily non-operating.
- The stock fell -5.05% on the first reaction day and was down -6.90% after five sessions.
Price around the results
Costs erased Q4FY26 operating profit
Standalone revenue rose +17.97% QoQ, but expenses increased +31.62%, so costs grew faster than revenue. Operating margin fell from 1.21% in Q3FY26 to -10.21%, a decline of 11.42 percentage points, turning operating profit into a loss of Rs 335.26 cr. Interest and depreciation also increased +12.66% and +18.30%, respectively.
Non-operating income and tax benefit supported profit
Other income increased +690.11% QoQ to Rs 556.55 cr and accounted for 2,938.49% of pre-tax profit, which was only Rs 18.94 cr. A negative tax charge of Rs 8.34 cr also lifted net profit, with the tax rate moving from 66.89% to -44.03%. The result was therefore not supported by operating earnings.
Margin ranked last among 15 reported Energy peers
Bharat Coking Coal's -10.21% operating margin was 24.80 percentage points below the 14.59% median for the 15 Energy peers that had reported. It ranked first from the bottom on this measure. The available quarterly trend also shows a sharp deterioration from the 1.21% margin recorded in Q3FY26.
Shares fell after the after-close filing
Following the filing after market close on April 22, the stock fell -5.05% on April 23, including a -3.41% opening gap, with volume at 1.51 times the reference level. The decline widened to -6.90% after five sessions, while the stock underperformed the market by -5.33% over that period.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Standalone figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹3,283 cr | ₹2,783 cr | +17.97% |
| Other income | ₹557 cr | ₹70 cr | +690.11% |
| Expenses | ₹3,618 cr | ₹2,749 cr | +31.62% |
| Operating profit | ₹-335 cr | ₹34 cr | — |
| Operating margin (%) | -10.21% | 1.21% | — |
| Interest | ₹52 cr | ₹46 cr | +12.66% |
| Depreciation | ₹150 cr | ₹127 cr | +18.30% |
| Profit before tax | ₹19 cr | ₹-69 cr | — |
| Tax | ₹-8 cr | ₹-46 cr | +81.96% |
| Net profit | ₹27 cr | ₹-23 cr | — |
| EPS (₹) | ₹0.06 | ₹-0.05 | — |
Operating margin of -10.21% compares with a Energy sector median of 14.59% across 15 peers that have reported Q4FY26.
How the stock reacted
| Window | Stock | vs NIFTY |
|---|---|---|
| Results day | -5.05% | -4.21% |
| Next session | -5.86% | — |
| 5 sessions | -6.90% | -5.33% |
| 15 sessions | +7.23% | — |
| 30 sessions | +9.10% | — |
Volume on the results session was 1.51× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin recovers above the Q3FY26 level of 1.21%.
- Whether expense growth falls below the Q4FY26 revenue growth of +17.97%, against +31.62% in Q4FY26.
- Whether other income remains a material profit support after contributing Rs 556.55 cr in Q4FY26.