Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) share price rallied over 3 percent to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 488 apiece on Thursday after the downstream company posted over four times increase in standalone profit for the quarter ended March 2021 and announced a huge dividend.

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It reported a standalone net profit of Rs 11,940.13 crore in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 as compared to Rs 2,777.62 crore in the previous quarter. The profit included a one-time gain of Rs 6,992.9 crore during the quarter.

The company’s revenue from operations during Q4FY21 rose 14.1 percent to Rs 98,755.62 crore from Rs 86,579.95 crore, QoQ.

On the operational front, EBITDA rose by 17.5 percent to Rs 5,057.5 crore and EBITDA margin expanded by 20 bps to 6.6 percent, sequentially.

The average gross refining margin (GRM) of the company during the year ended March 2021 is $4.06 per barrel, against $2.50 per barrel in the previous year, BPCL said in an exchange filing.

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: BPCL Q4 net profit at Rs 11,940 crore, beats estimates; declares dividend of Rs 58/share

The company’s board approved a final dividend of Rs 58 per share, which includes a one-time special dividend of Rs 35 per equity share

Global brokerage Jefferies maintained a Buy rating on the stock and raised the target price to Rs 520 per share. It cut FY22/23 EBITDA by 8/5%

As per the brokerage, BPCL posted in-line core EBITDA, with inventory gains driving a large beat. Marketing volume growth was faster than industry growth, while marketing profitability will be restored as retail price hikes continue, Jefferies said.

The dividend of Rs 58 per share and low capex pleasantly surprised, it added, saying privatisation will be key for further upside.

JPMorgan said that the large one-time dividend was the main highlight of a strong quarter, while the progress on privatisation remains important.

It believes relative outperformance of OMCs versus benchmark should continue

The brokerage maintained an Overweight call with a target price of Rs 550 per share.

Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating with a target of Rs 480 per share. It says that BPCL's core earnings were largely in-line and it operationally outperformed peers on utilisation rates.

BPCL gained market share in retail fuel marketing, the brokerage noted and said that the progress on divestment and demand recovery will be key.

Retail fuel price hikes and dividend drives positive stance, it added.

At 9:45 am, the shares of BPCL were trading 1.20 percent higher at Rs 476.95 apiece on the BSE.

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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)