BPCL swings to Rs 1,872.70 cr loss as costs outpace revenue
Revenue rose +34.41% YoY, but expenses grew faster, operating margin fell 1.02 percentage points and the tax rate rose 10.78 percentage points.
Filed 22 Jul 2026, 14:40 IST · Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL)
Key takeaways
- BPCL swung to a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,872.70 cr in Q1FY27 from a profit of Rs 6,839.02 cr a year earlier.
- Expenses grew 50.99% year on year against 34.41% revenue growth, pushing operating margin down 11.28 percentage points to -2.68%.
- Other income of Rs 3,534.99 cr and a tax credit of Rs 1,342.94 cr reduced the reported loss, but operating profit remained negative at Rs 4,054.81 cr.
Price around the results
Operating loss erased the prior-year profit
BPCL reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 1,872.70 cr in Q1FY27, compared with a net profit of Rs 6,839.02 cr in Q1FY26 and Rs 5,624.54 cr in Q4FY26. Revenue grew 34.41% year on year and 27.44% sequentially, but operating profit fell to a loss of Rs 4,054.81 cr. The operating margin decline was 11.28 percentage points year on year and 11.17 percentage points sequentially.
Costs grew faster while non-operating income cushioned the loss
Expenses rose 50.99% year on year and 43.00% sequentially, outpacing revenue growth in both comparisons. Interest expense fell 17.27% year on year and 11.09% sequentially, while depreciation increased 9.53% year on year and 1.89% sequentially; neither offset the operating loss. Other income of Rs 3,534.99 cr was equivalent to -109.93% of pre-tax profit because pre-tax profit was negative, and the tax credit of Rs 1,342.94 cr narrowed the net loss.
Margin fell for a second straight quarter and trails energy peers
Operating margin had risen to 9.82% in Q3FY26 before falling to 8.49% in Q4FY26 and turning negative at -2.68% in Q1FY27. BPCL's margin was 15.17 percentage points below the 12.49% median for 13 Energy companies that had reported the same quarter, placing it third from the bottom. The year-on-year deterioration was sharper than the sequential decline only marginally, with margin down 11.28 percentage points versus 11.17 percentage points.
Initial share-price decline was within BPCL's usual result-day range
The stock fell 1.68% on the results date and was down 2.97% at the next session point, with a 1.34 times volume ratio on the results date. The initial 1.68% decline was smaller than BPCL's 2.29% median absolute move after its previous eight results, when the stock rose five times and fell three times. The stock's relative performance was -0.88% on the results date and -0.87% at the fifth session point.
Q1FY27 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q1FY27 | Q4FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,51,277 cr | ₹1,18,701 cr | +27.44% | +34.41% |
| Other income | ₹3,535 cr | ₹497 cr | +611.18% | +92.07% |
| Expenses | ₹1,55,332 cr | ₹1,08,624 cr | +43.00% | +50.99% |
| Operating profit | ₹-4,055 cr | ₹10,076 cr | — | — |
| Operating margin (%) | -2.68% | 8.49% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹627 cr | ₹705 cr | -11.09% | -17.27% |
| Depreciation | ₹2,069 cr | ₹2,031 cr | +1.89% | +9.53% |
| Profit before tax | ₹-3,216 cr | ₹7,838 cr | — | — |
| Tax | ₹-1,343 cr | ₹2,213 cr | — | — |
| Net profit | ₹-1,873 cr | ₹5,625 cr | — | — |
| EPS (₹) | ₹-4.38 | ₹13.16 | — | — |
Operating margin of -2.68% compares with a Energy sector median of 12.49% across 13 peers that have reported Q1FY27.
How the stock reacted
| Window | Stock | vs NIFTY |
|---|---|---|
| Results day | -1.68% | -0.88% |
| Next session | -2.97% | — |
| 5 sessions | -0.61% | -0.87% |
Volume on the results session was 1.34× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin recovers from -2.68% after the second straight quarterly decline.
- Whether expense growth falls below the 34.41% year-on-year revenue growth rate.
- Whether other income remains material after contributing Rs 3,534.99 cr in Q1FY27.