Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) reported a sharp turnaround in its financial performance for the third quarter ended December 31, 2025, driven by higher crude throughput, improved refining margins and sustained operational efficiency.
During Q3FY26, CPCL achieved a crude throughput of 2.79 million metric tonnes (MMT), up from 2.55 MMT in the corresponding quarter last year. This translated into a capacity utilisation of 105%, reflecting strong plant reliability and efficient operations. The company also maintained its best-ever distillate yield of around 80%, underlining its continued focus on energy efficiency and operational excellence. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, crude throughput stood at 8.78 MMT, compared with 7.48 MMT in the same period last year, with capacity utilisation improving to 111%.
Sharp Jump in Profits
The strong operational performance translated into a significant improvement in financials. For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Revenue from operations rose to ₹19,438 crore, compared with ₹15,683 crore a year ago. CPCL reported a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of ₹1,317 crore and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of ₹987 crore for the quarter, a sharp increase from a PBT of ₹14 crore and PAT of ₹10 crore in the same quarter last year.
For the nine-month period, revenue stood at ₹58,155 crore, up from ₹50,469 crore in the previous year. The company posted a PBT of ₹2,231 crore and a PAT of ₹1,662 crore, compared with losses of ₹374 crore at the PBT level and ₹276 crore at the PAT level in the corresponding period last year.
Refining Margins Improve Significantly
CPCL also benefited from a sharp improvement in refining margins. The Gross Refining Margin (GRM) for the quarter improved to $10.97 per barrel, compared with $4.29 per barrel a year ago. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, GRM stood at $7.72 per barrel, up from $3.40 per barrel in the previous year.
On a consolidated basis, CPCL reported a Profit After Tax of ₹1,002 crore for the quarter and ₹1,681 crore for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2025. The strong Q3 performance underlines CPCL’s operational resilience and its ability to capitalise on favourable refining economics amid a volatile global energy environment.