Revenue surged, but Chennai Petroleum stayed loss-making at operating level
Revenue grew +84.77% YoY faster than expenses, narrowing the operating-margin loss by 22.79 percentage points; the stock fell -2.92% on the results day.
Filed 23 Jul 2026, 13:13 IST · Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd (CHENNPETRO)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated revenue grew +84.77% YoY while the operating-margin loss narrowed by 22.79 percentage points to -4.05%.
- Net profit of Rs 1,031.35 cr came despite a Rs 1,109.18 cr operating loss, with other income contributing only 1.30% of pre-tax profit.
- The stock fell -2.92% on the results day, a larger decline than its 1.67% median move after recent results.
Price around the results
Revenue growth narrowed the operating loss
Chennai Petroleum’s consolidated revenue grew +84.77% YoY, while expenses rose +51.58%, narrowing the operating-margin loss from -26.84% to -4.05%. Sequentially, revenue grew +62.74% and expenses rose +47.00%, improving the margin by 11.15 percentage points from Q4FY26. The operating business remained loss-making despite the improvement.
Reported profit was not driven by other income
The company reported pre-tax profit of Rs 1,365.56 cr despite a Rs 1,109.18 cr operating loss, while other income accounted for only 1.30% of pre-tax profit. The tax rate fell by 3.78 percentage points YoY to 25.55%, which provided some support to net profit. Interest expense rose +40.77% YoY and +217.54% sequentially.
Margin improved from Q4 but stayed below peers
Operating margin improved from -15.20% in Q4FY26 to -4.05%, reversing the deterioration seen in the previous quarter, but it remained negative for the fifth consecutive quarter in the reported trend. Among six Energy peers that had reported, the sector median operating margin was 15.49%, leaving Chennai Petroleum 19.54 percentage points below the median and third from the bottom.
The market reaction was weaker than usual
The stock fell -2.92% on the results day and was down -6.95% on the next session. That was weaker than the company’s typical post-results move of 1.67% in absolute terms; seven of the last eight recorded reactions were declines.
Q1FY27 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — filed ahead of third-party databases, not yet independently cross-checked.
| Line item | Q1FY27 | Q4FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹27,369 cr | ₹16,817 cr | +62.74% | +84.77% |
| Other income | ₹18 cr | ₹21 cr | -15.11% | +91.35% |
| Expenses | ₹28,478 cr | ₹19,374 cr | +47.00% | +51.58% |
| Operating profit | ₹-1,109 cr | ₹-2,556 cr | +56.61% | +72.10% |
| Operating margin (%) | -4.05% | -15.20% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹52 cr | ₹16 cr | +217.54% | +40.77% |
| Depreciation | ₹155 cr | ₹150 cr | +3.23% | +2.66% |
| Profit before tax | ₹1,366 cr | ₹1,890 cr | -27.76% | — |
| Tax | ₹349 cr | ₹491 cr | -28.90% | — |
| Net profit | ₹1,031 cr | ₹1,422 cr | -27.46% | — |
| EPS (₹) | ₹69.26 | ₹95.48 | -27.46% | — |
Operating margin of -4.05% compares with a Energy sector median of 15.49% across 6 peers that have reported Q1FY27.
How the stock reacted
| Window | Stock | vs NIFTY |
|---|---|---|
| Results day | -2.92% | -2.39% |
| Next session | -6.95% | — |
Volume on the results session was 4.87× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin improves from -4.05% in the next quarter.
- Whether revenue growth continues to exceed the +47.00% sequential expense growth rate.
- Whether the tax rate stays close to 25.55% after its 3.78-percentage-point YoY decline.