Hindustan Petroleum profit jumps 77.58% as margin rebounds
Costs fell faster than revenue sequentially, but other income contributed 24.99% of pre-tax profit and the margin remained below the Energy peer median.
Filed 13 May 2026, 12:01 IST · Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HINDPETRO)
Key takeaways
- Net profit rose 77.58% year on year to Rs 6,065.26 cr as operating profit increased 58.93%.
- Operating margin recovered 1.93 percentage points sequentially to 8.01% after declining through the previous three quarters.
- The stock gained 5.46% on the results day, well above its 1.76% median absolute move after the past eight results.
Price around the results
Profit growth outpaced modest revenue growth
Consolidated revenue increased 4.84% year on year, while operating profit rose 58.93%, showing that the profit improvement came mainly from better operating conversion rather than sales growth. Sequentially, revenue slipped 0.19%, but expenses fell 2.25%, allowing operating profit to increase 31.63%. Net profit also benefited from a lower tax rate, which declined 3.90 percentage points sequentially and 0.62 percentage points year on year.
Margin recovered, but other income remains material
Operating margin expanded 2.72 percentage points year on year and 1.93 percentage points sequentially because expenses grew more slowly than revenue in both comparisons. The recovery follows three quarters of decline from 6.83% in Q1FY26 to 6.08% in Q3FY26. Other income accounted for 24.99% of pre-tax profit, so the earnings increase was not entirely operating in nature; interest expense also rose 34.82% year on year and 39.02% sequentially.
HPCL trails the reported Energy peer margin
HPCL's 8.01% operating margin was 6.58 percentage points below the 14.59% median for the 15 Energy peers that had reported the same quarter. It ranked third from the bottom on this measure, despite the year-on-year margin recovery.
The market reaction was unusually positive for HPCL
The stock rose 5.46% on the results day, with volume at 2.25 times the reference level, and remained up 3.47% after five sessions. That move was larger than the 1.76% median absolute reaction across the past eight results, when HPCL rose six times and fell twice.
Q4FY26 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q4FY26 | Q3FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,14,937 cr | ₹1,15,153 cr | -0.19% | +4.84% |
| Other income | ₹1,910 cr | ₹727 cr | +162.56% | +106.99% |
| Expenses | ₹1,05,726 cr | ₹1,08,155 cr | -2.25% | +1.82% |
| Operating profit | ₹9,211 cr | ₹6,998 cr | +31.63% | +58.93% |
| Operating margin (%) | 8.01% | 6.08% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹1,020 cr | ₹734 cr | +39.02% | +34.82% |
| Depreciation | ₹2,457 cr | ₹1,674 cr | +46.75% | +51.35% |
| Profit before tax | ₹7,644 cr | ₹5,317 cr | +43.76% | +76.20% |
| Tax | ₹1,578 cr | ₹1,306 cr | +20.89% | +71.09% |
| Net profit | ₹6,065 cr | ₹4,011 cr | +51.20% | +77.58% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹28.50 | ₹18.85 | +51.19% | +77.46% |
Operating margin of 8.01% 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 | +5.46% | +5.32% |
| Next session | +2.07% | — |
| 5 sessions | +3.47% | +2.28% |
| 15 sessions | +4.62% | — |
| 30 sessions | +10.64% | — |
Volume on the results session was 2.25× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether consolidated operating margin holds above 8.01% after the Q4FY26 recovery.
- Whether other income's 24.99% contribution to pre-tax profit declines.
- Whether interest expense growth moderates from 39.02% sequentially.