Petronet LNG Limited Earnings Summary — Q4 FY2026
Petronet LNG Reports Record Quarterly Profit Despite Falling Revenues as Margins Double
Quarterly Business Intelligence
AI Quarterly Scorecard™
Computed deterministically from the last 10 reported quarters.
Quarterly Business Momentum
- Revenue declined 41.1% sequentially in Q1 FY2027.
- Revenue of ₹5,558 Cr is 53.2% lower year-on-year.
- Revenue has compounded at -33.2% annualised over the last 10 quarters.
- Net profit of ₹1,137 Cr is 35.1% above the same quarter last year.
- Profit growth is outpacing revenue growth, pointing to positive operating leverage.
- Net profit has compounded at 19.3% annualised across the period.
- Operating margin stands at 27.6% in Q1 FY2027.
- Operating margin expanded by 1786 bps year-on-year.
- Over the last two years operating margin has expanded by 1597 bps.
- PBT margin is 26.8%.
- Expense growth of -62.5% remained below revenue growth of -53.2%.
- Operating profit of ₹1,535 Cr is 32.4% higher year-on-year.
- Operating leverage continues to improve.
- 0 of the last 6 measured quarters delivered year-on-year revenue growth.
- Overall quarterly business momentum scores 55/100 (Healthy) on the latest 10 quarters.
- Business momentum remains positive heading into the next quarter.
Quarterly Financials
Last 10 Reported Quarters • All figures in ₹ Crore • Margins in %
| Metric | Trend | Latest Q1 FY2027 | Q4 FY2026 | Q3 FY2026 | Q2 FY2026 | Q1 FY2026 | Q4 FY2025 | Q3 FY2025 | Q2 FY2025 | Q1 FY2025 | Q4 FY2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Declining | 5,558 | 9,442 | 11,164 | 11,009 | 11,880 | 12,316 | 12,227 | 13,024 | 13,415 | 13,793 |
| Expenses | Declining | 4,023 | 7,581 | 9,966 | 9,892 | 10,721 | 10,803 | 10,980 | 11,822 | 11,853 | 12,690 |
| Operating Profit | Accelerating | 1,535 | 1,861 | 1,198 | 1,117 | 1,159 | 1,512 | 1,247 | 1,202 | 1,563 | 1,104 |
| Operating Margin | Strong Uptrend | 27.6% | 19.7% | 10.7% | 10.1% | 9.8% | 12.3% | 10.2% | 9.2% | 11.7% | 8.0% |
| Other Income | Improving | 208 | 200 | 214 | 234 | 217 | 197 | 196 | 202 | 178 | 154 |
| Interest | Softening | 51 | 62 | 56 | 61 | 59 | 61 | 65 | 65 | 67 | 71 |
| Depreciation | Stable | 201 | 205 | 215 | 211 | 207 | 206 | 210 | 196 | 195 | 194 |
| Profit Before Tax | Improving | 1,491 | 1,794 | 1,141 | 1,079 | 1,110 | 1,443 | 1,169 | 1,142 | 1,479 | 992 |
| Tax | Improving | 383 | 457 | 296 | 277 | 285 | 376 | 302 | 293 | 378 | 258 |
| Net Profit | Improving | 1,137 | 1,371 | 870 | 830 | 842 | 1,095 | 902 | 871 | 1,105 | 764 |
| Net Margin | Strong Uptrend | 20.5% | 14.5% | 7.8% | 7.5% | 7.1% | 8.9% | 7.4% | 6.7% | 8.2% | 5.5% |
Key Takeaways
- Net profit surged to an all-time high of ₹1,371 crore in Q4 FY26 despite a substantial 23% drop in revenues.
- Operating Profit Margin (OPM) spiked to 20% in the latest quarter, nearly doubling from the previous quarter's 11%.
- Overall sales for FY2026 stood at ₹43,495 crore, reflecting a 3-year compounded decline of 10% in topline growth.
- The company maintains a fortress balance sheet with reserves growing to ₹20,785 crore and total borrowings reducing to ₹2,341 crore.
- Profitability resilience is driven by stabilized regasification tariffs and volume-linked margins rather than trading revenues.
- Earnings per share (EPS) improved significantly to ₹9.14 for the quarter compared to ₹5.80 in the previous quarter.
- Cash flow generation remains strong, with cash and bank balances reaching ₹8,250 crore as of March 2026.
- The dividend payout ratio saw a sharp contraction during the fiscal year, dropping to 12% from levels consistently above 35%.
Management Guidance
Management is focused on the '1-5-20' vision, targeting integrated infrastructure growth. Strategies include expanding Dahej terminal capacity, improving Kochi utilization, and diversifying into small-scale LNG and bunkering.
Sentiment Shift
Improving
While revenue is declining due to spot price deflation, bottom-line resilience and massive margin expansion indicate high-quality earnings and better operational efficiency.
Outlook
The company is transitioning from a growth-focused infrastructure player to a high-margin utility model. Outlook depends on domestic natural gas demand growth and the company's ability to maintain its 75% market share amidst new terminal competition.
From the Annual Report (Key Quotes)
“Profit after tax has compounded at approximately 16% over the last 10 years, significantly outperforming revenue CAGR.”
“The company maintains robust operational margins and serves a critical role in India’s transition to a gas-based economy.”
“Balance sheet is exceptionally strong, with Net Worth growing to over ₹22,000 Cr by 2026.”
Official Quarterly Documents
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This summary is AI-generated from Petronet LNG Limited's latest quarterly filing and earnings call. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.