CARE Ratings assigns 'stable' outlook to BPCL's debt instruments

Bharat Petroleum Corporation said that CARE Ratings has removed the long-term ratings assigned to the company's debt instruments from 'credit watch with developing implications' and assigned a 'stable long term rating'.

CARE Ratings said that this is done on account of the announcement made by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) that the Government of India (GoI) has called off their previously-announced expression of interest (EoI) for the strategic divestment of the GoI's stake in BPCL.

The long-term ratings had been under 'credit watch with developing implications' since December 2019, following the approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for divesting the GoI's entire shareholding and management control thereon to a prospective strategic buyer.

The ratings assigned to the debt instruments of BPCL continue to derive strength from its strong parentage, the company being a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) controlled by the GoI, its high strategic importance to the GoI, and the company's strong operating profile, backed by sizeable oil refining capacity and established marketing and distribution network.

The ratings also derive strength from the company's healthy financial risk profile, marked by a comfortable capital structure and debt coverage metrics along with strong liquidity.

The rating strengths are, however, tempered by the inherent vulnerability of the company's profits to the volatility in crack spreads and crude oil prices, apart from project implementation risks due to the sizeable capital expenditure (capex) plans, as well as the increasing competition among its public sector undertaking (PSU) peers as well as from private players and the competitive industry scenario.

BPCL, a GoI undertaking (52.98% holding as on 31 March 2022) and a Fortune 500 company. The company is an integrated oil refining and marketing company. It is India's second-largest OMC, with a domestic sales volume of over 42.51 MMT and a market share of 29% in FY22. It is India's third-largest oil refining company, with a total refining capacity of 35.30 MMT (including the Bina Refinery), representing around 14.19% of India's total refining capacity.

The PSU company reported a 82.2% fall in standalone net profit to Rs 2,130.53 crore on 41.5% surge in net sales to Rs 108,773.57 crore in Q4 FY22 over Q4 FY21.

The scrip shed 0.58% to currently trade at Rs 316.65 on the BSE.

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