New Delhi: Petronet LNG ended the March quarter with its highest-ever quarterly profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT), but the headline numbers came on the back of a softer revenue base and lower costs. In the standalone statement, revenue from operations fell to Rs 9,442.09 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 11,163.83 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 12,315.75 crore in the year-ago quarter, while total income dropped to Rs 9,642.25 crore. Even so, profit before tax rose to Rs 1,794.97 crore and profit after tax to Rs 1,338.05 crore, helped by a large reversal in impairment loss, lower expenses and the recovery of Rs 630.04 crore of outstanding Use or Pay dues for CY 2022. The company said the quarter delivered the “Highest ever PBT and PAT” and also said its robust annual performance was achieved due to “efficiency in operations.”
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Standalone total expenses fell to Rs 7,847.28 crore in Q4 FY26 from Rs 10,235.85 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 11,069.46 crore a year earlier. Cost of materials consumed dropped to Rs 7,746.04 crore from Rs 9,537.85 crore in Q3 and Rs 10,831.61 crore in Q4 FY25. Consolidated numbers told the same story: total expenses were Rs 7,847.91 crore in Q4 FY26 versus Rs 10,236.38 crore in Q3 and Rs 11,070.04 crore a year earlier, while consolidated PBT stood at Rs 1,794.39 crore and PAT at Rs 1,337.59 crore. After adding the share of joint ventures, consolidated PAT came to Rs 1,370.74 crore.
Operationally, the company still had a decent quarter. A statement said Dahej terminal processed 201 TBTU of LNG in Q4 FY26 versus 214 TBTU in the previous quarter and 189 TBTU a year earlier, while overall LNG volume processed by the company was 219 TBTU compared with 233 TBTU and 205 TBTU respectively. Capacity utilisation at Dahej was 90.1 percent in the quarter, down from 93.8 percent in Q3 but up from 85.2 percent in Q4 FY25. For the full year, however, the picture was weaker: Dahej processed 833 TBTU versus 876 TBTU in FY25, and overall LNG volume slipped to 901 TBTU from 934 TBTU. Kochi terminal posted its highest-ever annual throughput of 68 TBTU.
For FY26, standalone revenue from operations fell to Rs 43,494.91 crore from Rs 50,979.56 crore a year earlier, while total income declined to Rs 44,390.35 crore from Rs 51,794.89 crore. Standalone PBT eased to Rs 5,157.55 crore from Rs 5,275.18 crore, and PAT slipped to Rs 3,842.67 crore from Rs 3,926.37 crore. The consolidated statement was nearly identical at the top line: revenue from operations was Rs 43,494.91 crore and total income Rs 44,358.98 crore, compared with Rs 51,755.00 crore last year. Consolidated PBT came in at Rs 5,123.90 crore versus Rs 5,232.87 crore, while consolidated PAT stood at Rs 3,809.41 crore versus Rs 3,883.92 crore. After joint ventures, consolidated PAT was Rs 3,912.53 crore, down from Rs 3,972.68 crore. EPS also softened, with standalone basic EPS at Rs 25.62 and consolidated basic EPS at Rs 26.08, both below the year-ago levels.
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The balance-sheet picture was stronger than the profit-and-loss account suggests. Standalone cash and cash equivalents rose to Rs 1,858.93 crore at the end of FY26 from Rs 775.64 crore a year earlier, while consolidated cash and cash equivalents increased to Rs 1,859.29 crore from Rs 781.12 crore. Net worth also moved higher, to Rs 21,719.66 crore in standalone books and Rs 22,284.82 crore on a consolidated basis. The board recommended a final dividend of Rs 3 per share, subject to shareholder approval.
Petronet LNG’s March quarter was strong enough to set a record on profit, but the full-year numbers point to a more restrained story: lower throughput, weaker revenue and earnings that held up mainly because costs came down faster than sales.
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