May 20, 2026 [Reuters]- India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp reported a rise in fourth-quarter profit before exceptional items and tax on Tuesday, helped by ​steady fuel demand.

• The state-run refiner’s standalone profit before ‌exceptional items and tax rose 42.6% to 86.07 billion rupees ($891.6 million) for the quarter ended March 31.
• The company’s net profit was nearly flat at ​31.91 billion rupees, which included a one-time impairment ​charge of 43.49 billion rupees related to an ⁠investment in a subsidiary.
• India, the world’s third-largest oil importer ​and consumer, witnessed improved fuel demand, with fuel consumption rising ​2.9%, 5.8% and 3.2% year-on-year in January, February and March.
• Analysts had expected oil marketing companies, such as Hindustan Petroleum Corp and BPCL, to report a jump in ​fourth-quarter refining margins led by higher product cracks, and ​inventory gains.
• However, BPCL, India’s third-largest oil refiner by capacity, did not ‌disclose ⁠its average gross refining margin for the fourth-quarter or for fiscal 2026.
• If crude oil prices rise after refiners buy stock cheaply, the value of their inventory increases.
• Global Brent crude ​oil prices ​rose about ⁠94% during the January-March period on supply concerns due to the US-Iran military conflict which ​started in late February.
• Revenue from operations rose ​6.3% ⁠to 1.35 trillion rupees.
• Its total expenses jumped 4.7% to 1.27 trillion rupees due to a 12.5% rise in purchase of stock-in-trade, which ⁠refers ​to the cost of petroleum products ​purchased for resale.
• Last week, peer HPCL reported higher quarterly profit on strong refining margins and steady ​fuel demand.