Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on, May 27, said that the state-run has no intent to sell its stake Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) or Petronet LNG.

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“We have no intention to sell down the holdings we have either in Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) and Petronet LNG,” said N Vijayagopal, Director-Finance at BPCL told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

“We are a government company. We are working very closely with the government of India. In all matters of disinvestment, our objectives are aligned. BPCL valuation will have an impact if we sell down the stake. Therefore, we don’t see any need to clarify this matter any further,” he added.

On city gas distribution assets, Vijayagopal said, “Gas is one of our focus areas for expansion. We have no plan to sell, we are going to expand. It is a profitable business, profitable addition to our existing strength in the retail side.”

On BPCL’s disinvestment plan, the director said they are ready and have opened the data room for potential investors. “Lot of questions come from potential investors, we are in the process of answering them,” he said.

Vijayagopal, however, admitted that the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has slightly dampened the speed of the process. “But barring unforeseen circumstances, we should be in the course to complete this transaction at least by end of this calendar year or maybe another three months later,” he added. Timeline for divestment will be announced by DIPAM, Vijayagopal said.

The top BPCL official’s remarks come at a time when the firm has posted its Q4FY21 earnings. The strong beat was driven by both the marketing and refining segment. The company has also announced a dividend of Rs 58 per share, in line with expectations.

While discussing the performance, Vijayagopal noted, “We have done well in Q4. It is the best ever quarter BPCL has reported so far in its history. Our refinery throughput is around 86 percent.”

BPCL plans to spend around Rs 12,000 crore as it closes the year 2021-2022.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video

(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)

First Published:May 27, 2021 3:52 PM IST