State-owned refiners BPCL and HPCL declared a bonus issue of shares even as their quarterly earnings were a disappointment leading to their shares falling up to 4.58 per cent.

While the board of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) approved a 1:1 bonus issue, or one additional scrip for each share held, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) offered one bonus share for every two held.

BPCL reported a 30 per cent fall in net profits for the January-March quarter on lower refining margins. Its consolidated net profit came in at ₹4,789.57 crore compared with ₹6,870.47 crore a year ago.

Turnover of the refiner was almost flat at ₹1.32 lakh crore compared with ₹1.34 lakh crore a year ago.

BPCL said its board has recommended a final dividend of ₹21 per share (pre-bonus) for 2023-24, which translates into a final dividend of ₹10.5 per share (post bonus).

BPCL earned $14.14 on turning every barrel of crude oil into fuel a gross refining margin of $8.83 a barrel in the preceding fiscal year.

HPCL net

HPCL saw net profits for the January-March period falling 25 per cent on lower refining margins. Its consolidated profit stood at ₹2,709.31 crore against ₹3,608.32 crore a year ago.

Gross refining margins or earnings from converting every barrel of crude oil into fuel stood at $6.95 against $14.01 per barrel in the year-ago period.

Turnover rose to ₹1.22 lakh crore against ₹1.15 lakh crore. The directors recommended a final dividend of ₹16.50 per equity share (pre-bonus), which translates into a final dividend of ₹11.00 per equity share after bonus. Shares of HPCL ended lower by 4.17 per cent to end at ₹501.30 on Friday, while the BPCL scrip lost 4.58 per cent to close at ₹592.30 on the BSE.