BPCL first-quarter profit rises over three-fold, beats estimates

(Reuters) - India’s Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by strong refining margins.

Profit rose three-fold from a year earlier to 22.93 billion rupees ($334.16 million) in the first quarter ended June 30, the state-controlled oil refining and marketing company said bit.ly/2nmAKGp.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 19.98 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Brent crude oil futures climbed about 13 percent in the June quarter.

Average gross refining margin, the difference between the cost of crude oil processed and the prices of refined products, rose to $7.49 per barrel from $4.88 per barrel a year earlier.

($1 = 68.6200 Indian rupees)