Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) on Wednesday declared a record Rs 12,581-crore dividend, more than half of which will go to the government, ahead
of the privatisation of the company.

In a regulatory filing, BPCL said its “board of directors has recommended a final dividend of Rs 58 per equity share (including one-time special dividend of Rs 35 per equity share of Rs 10 each) for the financial year ended March 2021, subject to the approval of the shareholders”.

The dividend works out to Rs 12,581.66 crore, including a special dividend of Rs 7,592.38 crore.

The government, which is selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in BPCL, will get Rs 6,665.76-crore plus dividend distribution tax.

During the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021, BPCL posted a standalone net profit of Rs 11,940.13 crore compared with a loss of Rs 1,361 crore in the same period a year ago.

The dividend declared is in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 21 per share paid earlier in the fiscal.

Expectations that the privatisation candidate would announce a high payout rose after it announced the sale of its stake in the Numaligarh refinery to a consortium of Oil India Ltd and Engineers India Ltd for Rs 9,876 crore.

The corporation also liquidated around Rs 5,500 crore of treasury shares. After it had acquired Oman Oil’s nearly 37 per cent stake in Bina refinery, the net cash following these transactions was estimated at over Rs 13,000 crore.In March, the oil refiner had paid an interim dividend of Rs 5 per share which fell short of market expectations.

Berger profit doubles

Berger Paints’ consolidated net profit more than doubled to Rs 208.60 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021 on account of higher revenue from operations.
It had reported a net profit of Rs 103.18 crore in the year-ago period.

Revenue from operations in the quarter under review was higher at Rs 2,026.09 crore against Rs 1,354.84 crore in the year-ago period, Berger Paints said in a BSE filing.
The company's board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2.80 per equity share for 2020-21, subject to approval of shareholders.
Shares of Berger Paints India settled 1.66 per cent higher at Rs 833.20 apiece on BSE.