INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Bharat Petroleum Corp's profit nearly halved in the second quarter, well below analysts' expectations, after a unit at its Mumbai refinery
was closed by a fire.Profit in Bharat Petroleum's fiscal second quarter ended September 30 was Rs 1,218 crore ($166 million), down from Rs
2,357 crore a year earlier, the refiner said in a statement on Monday.Eighteen analysts on average had expected a profit of Rs 1,842 crore,
according to Refinitiv data.Average gross refining margin, the difference between the cost of crude oil processed and the prices of refined
products, fell to $5.57 per barrel from $7.97 per barrel a year earlier.Revenue from operations jumped 29.3 per cent to Rs 82,880 crore at
BPCL, whose shares closed 0.8 per cent higher, while the broader NSE index rose 2.2 per cent.($1 = Rs 73.37)
