BPCL Large Trade: 68.4 lakh shares changes hands via block deal

About 68.4 lakh shares of state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) changed hands through a block deal on BSE in trade Wednesday.

The deal will see BPCL Trust for Investment divesting a portion of its shares through this transaction. The government officials and BPCL are likely to take the final call on the size and price of the block deal, according to a CNBC Awaaz report.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation's net profit declined 60% to ₹3,397 crore from ₹8,501 crore quarter-on-quarter and was also lower than the estimate of ₹3,677 crore. Revenue for the quarter stood at ₹1.15 lakh crore compared to ₹1.03 lakh crore in the September quarter.

However, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), halved compared to the September quarter, declining 52% to ₹6,225 crore from ₹12,908 crore. The EBITDA margin for the quarter also fell to 5.4% from 12.5% last quarter and was also lower than expectations of 6.5% of a CNBC-TV18 poll.

The calculated gross refining margin (GRM) for the quarter stood at $13.3 per barrel, which was higher than estimates of $11.7 per barrel. The refining throughput of 9.86 MMT was also higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of 9.5 MMT.

The blended retail margin for petrol and diesel stood at ₹2.8 per litre during the quarter. Marketing margin declined to ₹4,009 from ₹5,598 in the September quarter, according to brokerage firm ICICI Securities.

Block deals, which involve the sale or purchase of a significant number of shares in a single transaction, are often employed by companies seeking to raise capital or streamline their shareholding structure.

Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd ended at ₹584.25, down by ₹6.30, or 1.07%, on the BSE.