The state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) have had a fabulous financial year 2023-24. Even as they navigated rapidly evolving geo politics and wide fluctuations in crude prices, the OMCs not only ensured fuel availability at affordable rates, with one of the lowest fuel price inflation globally in India, but they have also rewarded the shareholders’ trust by posting commendable annual results.
However, some media reports have just focused on the Q4 2024 to Q4 2023 financial comparison to paint an abysmal picture and downplay their overall annual performance. Parameters like all time best throughputs, excellent capex utilisation, and projects completed have been completely ignored. The reportage is distinctly unfair and paints a picture which is unjustified.
The combined profit of OMCs for FY 2023-24 stood at Rs 86,000 crore, over 25 times higher than the extraordinarily difficult previous fiscal year. For the full 2023-24 fiscal, HPCL reported a record net profit of Rs 16,014 crore as opposed to a loss of Rs 6,980 crore in the previous year. IOCL capped an excellent year with historical best refinery throughput, sales volume and net profit.
BPCL’s profit after tax for FY 2023-24 came in at ₹26,673 crores, nearly 13-times higher than the previous fiscal year. Additionally, the company’s planned capital outlay of ₹1.7 lakh crores over 5 years under ‘Project Aspire’ underlines its commitment to creating long-term value for shareholders.
Markets have reacted positively to the results with BPCL and HPCL share prices rising after the announcement of results. Moreover, analysts have taken cognisance of the performance and many of them have put a buy recommendation, a strong validation of their annual performance and the outlook for the current fiscal year.
Over the last few years, the government has unleashed the potential of OMCs by allowing the right mix of freedom and accountability. The government maintains an arm’s length distance from their business decisions while fully supporting and encouraging ambitious plans that are aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat, 2047.
