Petronet LNG Limited (NSE:PETRONET)
India flag India · Delayed Price · Currency is INR
272.65
+2.75 (1.02%)
May 22, 2026, 3:30 PM IST
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Q4 25/26

May 5, 2026

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to Petronet LNG Limited's Q4 FY 2026 earnings conference call hosted by Ashika Institutional Equities. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star 10 zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Ms. Krishna Doshi from Ashika Institutional Equities. Thank you, over to you, Ms. Doshi.

Krishna Doshi
Analyst, Ashika Institutional Equities

Thank you, ma'am. Good morning, and very warm welcome to everyone. On behalf of Ashika Institutional Equities, I welcome you all to Petronet LNG Limited Q4 FY 2026 earnings conference call. Today, we have with us the management represented by Mr. Saurav Mitra, Director of Finance and CFO, Mr. Rakesh Chawla, Executive Director, F&A, Mr. Gyanendra Kumar Sharma, GGM and President, Marketing, Mr. Vivek Mittal, GGM and President, Marketing, Mr. Debabrata Satpathy, General Manager, F&A, Mr. Vikash Maheshwari, Deputy General Manager, F&A. We thank Petronet LNG Limited for giving us the opportunity to host the call, and we will now like to hand over the floor to the management for their opening remarks, post which we will open the floor for Q&A. Thanks, and over to you, sir.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah, good morning, everybody. I'm Saurav Mitra, Director, Finance and CFO. Thank you all for joining us for the earnings call for the quarter and financial year ended 31st March 2026. I'm pleased to share that the company has delivered a strong financial and operational performance during the current quarter, despite the challenging external environment arising from the ongoing crisis in the Gulf region. The performance reflects the resilience of our operations, the commitment of our teams, and the continued trust of our customers and stakeholders. Coming to the operational performance, during the current quarter, the overall LNG volume processed by the company stood at 219 TBTU as against 233 TBTU in the previous quarter and 205 TBTU in the corresponding quarter.

At the Dahej terminal, LNG throughput during the quarter stood at 201 TBTU compared to 214 TBTU in the previous quarter and 189 TBTU in the corresponding quarter. With regard to the operational performance of the Dahej terminal, I must mention that despite the uncertainties in the region, Dahej terminal continued to operate at strong utilization levels with capacity utilization at 90.1% during the current quarter as against 93.8% in the previous quarter and 85.2% in the corresponding quarter. I'm also happy to share that the Kochi terminal achieved its highest ever annual volume throughput of 68 TBTU during FY 2025, 2026, which is an encouraging milestone for the company.

On the financial front, the company reported the highest ever quarterly profit before tax and profit after tax in its history during the current quarter. PBT for the quarter stood at INR 1,795 crore as against INR 1,144 crore in the previous quarter and INR 1,446 crore in the corresponding quarter. PAT for the quarter stood at INR 1,338 crore compared to INR 848 crore in the previous quarter and INR 1,070 crore in the corresponding quarter.

For the financial year ended thirty-first March 2026, the company reported PBT of INR 5,158 crore and PAT of INR 3,843 crore as against PBT of INR 5,275 crore and PAT of INR 3,926 crore in the previous financial year. At the consolidated level, PAT for the current financial year stood at INR 3,913 crore compared to INR 3,973 crore in the previous financial year. During the current quarter, the customers also made payment of outstanding use of paid dues amounting to INR 630 crore pertaining to calendar year 2022.

Overall, the performance during the year was supported by operational efficiency, disciplined execution, and the continued focus of the company on ensuring reliable as well as efficient operations across both terminals. Considering the robust performance, the board of directors has recommended a final dividend of INR 3 per share for the financial year 2025-2026. With this, we now open the floor for the Q&A session. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you very much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask questions may please press star and one on their touchtone phone. If you wish to withdraw yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use only handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. You may please press star and one to ask questions at this time. The first question is from the line of Probal Sen from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

From Qatar,

Operator

Mr. Sen, I'm sorry, you are not audible.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Is this better?

Operator

Yes.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Yeah.

Operator

Please go ahead.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Thank you. Sorry for that, sir. I just wanted to ask, sir, with respect to firstly the quarter volumes, how has March actually looked in terms of volumes? You talked about utilization of 90%, of course, in the quarter. If I can just understand in terms of what it was in January and February, and what was the volume shortfall, if any, in March? Hello?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Are we audible?

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Yes, sir. You're audible.

Operator

Yes, sir.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Yes, sir. Go ahead.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

The Dahej capacity utilization during March was around 53%.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Okay.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Kochi was, slightly more than 20%.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Sir, just as a follow-up, how do we look at basically now FY 2027? Of course, you will have the April data with you, but just in terms of this dispute, if it continues to persist, how much of our volumes can be potentially at risk at this point of time?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Okay. Vivek if you can.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

Sure, so Probal.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Yeah

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

... while DF has just mentioned that March utilization was 50%, but things have been improving since early April or in March.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Mm-hmm.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

Our utilization is steadily going up. This is primarily through third party cargos which are wherein GAIL, IOCL, BPCL, GSPC, Torrent bring in additional volumes, and they can be. The prices are now at reasonable levels because immediately after the crisis the prices spiked to $25 also.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Mm-hmm.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

Currently, they are moving in the sort of $15-$17.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Right.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

With the lowering of prices, we are seeing an increased utilization vis-à-vis March. That's all I can say at this point of time. Yes, if the conflict continues, it's slightly challenging. Indian gas demand continues to grow. Power sector is again coming back. All this is supporting utilization or increased utilization of our terminals. As you know, we have expanded our capacity from 17.5 to 22.5.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Mm-hmm.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

In a percentage term it may look on a lower side, but absolute utilization vis-à-vis last year, it should be competitive.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Right. sir, just additional supplies, are the additional supplies that have been spoken about quite a bit, particularly in the U.S., are they actually basically playing the balancing factor in the Asian markets right now?

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

Couple of countries, not just U.S. U.S. is one of them, of course. Oman, which is very close to India, those suppliers continue to come in. Mozambique. There are new countries like Nigeria, and what is called Congo. We got a cargo from Congo. We got a cargo from Mauritania and Senegal. All these new supplies are adding up, and which is supporting. Interestingly, you will be aware that a new contract with ExxonMobil, which we signed in 2017.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Mm-hmm

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

Supplies under that contract has also started. In April, we got the first cargo under that contract. In the first year, though it's quite minimal, but that will also support to displace some part of the volume which has been lost due to this crisis.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Got it. From on a year-on-year perspective therefore, I mean, we should look at March as just a low base, and from here it could actually at least improve at the margin from the March lows. That's how one should look at it.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

That's correct.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

at least the next two quarters.

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

That's what we believe, Probal.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

All right. Sir, the second question was with respect to the just a housekeeping on balance sheet. The big adjustments that have happened in the receivables and the payables, they are all the adjustment made due to the UOP dues and settlement? Almost a INR 2,000 crore reduction that we see in both numbers for FY 2026 versus FY 2025.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

The receivables and payables actually, because you see March, our own volumes from QatarEnergy LNG were not coming in March.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Mm-hmm.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

That's why both sides, the receivable and payable are showing lower.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Okay. Okay. Okay.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Because majorly that is the LNG payable and the receivable with respect to the RLNG correspondingly.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Got it, sir. Last question, if I may. Any inventory gains that we have recorded this quarter and the third party regas revenue for this quarter, if you can kindly let us know?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

The regas revenue is INR 879 crores for this quarter. The inventory gain is INR 95 crores.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

INR 95 crores is the inventory gain.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah. Yeah.

Probal Sen
Analyst, ICICI Securities

All right, sir. I'll come back in the queue. Thank you so much and all the best.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Puneet Gulati from HSBC. Please go ahead.

Puneet Gulati
Analyst, HSBC

Yeah, thank you so much, and congrats on, you know, good performance in this tough quarter. My first question is, have you had any communication with Qatar so far as to what is the status of the trains from which you buy? When the war ends, how soon can they start supplying?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Okay. We are in constant touch with QatarEnergy. We are hopeful that the moment this conflict comes to an end, you know, within three to four weeks, supply should resume.

Puneet Gulati
Analyst, HSBC

Okay. No impact on your trains at all, right? That's very clear now.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

If that's what you mean. Yes, that's what we believe.

Puneet Gulati
Analyst, HSBC

Okay, good. Secondly, on your project on the petrochemical side, are you getting your supplies properly? Is that on track or is that slightly slower?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Far as the project activity for petrochemical plant is concerned, the project is absolutely on track. Because, you know, the capital equipments generally don't come from the Gulf region. Whatever imports are there, they come from Japan, Korea, China, and from Europe and U.S. That way, so far as supply of equipments, plant and machinery are concerned, there is no issue.

Puneet Gulati
Analyst, HSBC

Great. That's all from my side. Thank you so much, and all the best.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pranita from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Speaker 20

Good morning, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Am I audible?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yes.

Operator

Yes, ma'am. Please proceed.

Speaker 20

Yeah. I was just wondering, with all the conflicts and the force majeure, I wanted to understand how are you thinking about gas sourcing in terms of diversification and the storage infrastructure for LNG on a medium-term perspective.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

I'm not sure if you have had a look at the certain news clippings today morning or yesterday press meet which we had. Yes, diversification from India perspective is definitely on anvil, and we have been over last two or three years, you would have seen India has signed close to 10-12 million tons of long-term deals from the allied sources. That diversification has always been part of India's strategy. In fact, some of our capacity holders have been the major buyer of this LNG, which includes GAIL, Indian Oil, BPCL, GSPC. All of them have gone out in the market in last two years and sourced LNG from portfolio players, US-based companies, Australia-based companies. That diversification is already on the anvil and is taking place.

As far as our capacity for storage is concerned, yes, on a strategic side now we are definitely thinking India as a whole, as well as Petronet, to develop more tanks so that in times of crisis those volumes are available for the market, so that immediately there is no impact. On a longer-term basis, we will be working on it and definitely come back to you once we have investment approval in place for it.

Speaker 20

Right, sir. Thank you. I just wanted a clarification on the earlier comment you made, on the ExxonMobil contract. This is the Gorgon contract which you are expecting in Kochi, sometime this year, right? It's the same contract?

Vivek Mittal
GGM and President of Marketing, Petronet LNG

Yeah, it's the new contract with the ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. It's not a Gorgon contract. It's a ExxonMobil has a contract, a right to supply from their portfolio, where Gorgon is also one of the primary source. It's that contract which is started in April this year. This is in addition to the existing 1.42 million ton contract with ExxonMobil, which is already in place.

Speaker 20

Okay. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nitin Tiwari from PhillipCapital. Please go ahead.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Hi, sir. Good morning. Thanks for the opportunity. My first question is actually a clarification on the ESOP accounting treatment. We received about INR 630 crore. The reversal in P&L for provision is about INR 495. We try to understand that this is the rest of, about INR 130 is booked in revenue.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

See the, see the reversal, actually for CY 2022, whatever provision we had done, that reversal we did, and some provision was written in the current quarter itself for CY 2023 and CY 2024 as well.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Right, sir.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Adjusting that and then the reversal adjusted by the current provision, this number has come, INR 496.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

If you can help me with that breakdown, sir. I mean, like how much was reversed and how much incremental provision is made in this quarter, that would be very helpful.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

See, Just a minute. Just give me a minute.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Sure, sir. Sure, sir.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

In the meantime, Nitin, if you have any other question, you may continue to ask while we go through.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Yes, sir. Sure, sir. Secondly, on, basically CapEx projects, if you can help us understand that what was our total capital expenditure in FY 2026, and what is the plan for 2027? The capacity expansion that we have commissioned, have you capitalized that or we are going to capitalize that in the first quarter? I mean, those things and if you can give some color on that.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

So far as the capitalization is concerned, yes, we have commissioned the project apart from a particular, you know, facility. Excluding that particular facility, which will be commissioned in this current quarter, the entire expansion capacity, you know, has been commissioned and capitalized.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Coming to any amount that you can help us understand which has been capitalized in this quarter?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

We have capitalized INR 390 crores.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Balance?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Balance around INR 100 odd crores will be capitalized in the next quarter, in this current quarter.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Understood, sir.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Nitin.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

And, uh-

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Coming to.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Yeah

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

provision question.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Yeah.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

The reverse is INR 550 crores for CY 2022. For CY 2023, the provision is INR 35 crores. CY 2024 the provision is about INR 6 crores, INR 5.86 crores.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Sorry, how much was that, sir? For CY 2024 you mentioned?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

About INR 6 crores you can take.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Okay, sir.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

There is a also a waiver because of higher volume brought, waiver of about INR 13 crores in the current quarter. If you adjust the the INR 35 crores, INR 6 crores, and the INR 13 crores from the INR 550 crores, you will get the number of INR 496 crores.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

understood, sir. lastly, if I may, like, you know, just ask a clarificatory question on the question I asked earlier on utilization levels. you mentioned that the March utilization level was at 53% and some offset has been, like, you know, brought in from some other location. What is a ballpark utilization number that we should consider for the year ahead and for FY 2027 if this problem continues? If suppose the volume from Qatar doesn't come back, I mean, for 1 quarter or 2 quarters, what is a broad ballpark number we can look at?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

We should not be unnecessarily be pessimistic about the entire year. We have the numbers of April as well as, May. We would like to restrict ourselves, you know, in these two months only.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Mm-hmm.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

We hope that this, you know, ongoing situation in the Gulf will end very soon. As I have told you earlier that the moment it stops, Qatar Energy would, you know, be able to start the operations in the 3 to 4 weeks time. We are confident that maybe from the first week of June, the entire supply will come as per the annual delivery plan. We are also talking to Qatar so that whatever volumes we have lost, if they can make good during the current year itself, that will be great for the company as well as for the country also.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Got it, sir. That's very helpful. Thank you so much. I'll get back with you.

Operator

Thank you.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

I think, you had also asked, about, the proposed CapEx budget for, the current, financial year. It's around INR 9,000 crores.

Operator

Thank you, sir, for answering all those questions. We'll take the next question from the line of Yogesh Patil from Dolat Capital. Please go ahead.

Yogesh Patil
Analyst, Dolat Capital

Thanks for taking my question, sir. again, continuing with the same question on the CapEx. If you could provide the breakup of INR 9,000 crore CapEx for this FY 2027, that would be helpful. This is one. Second is related to the tariff hike at Kochi terminal from April. What was the tariff hike quantum on that side? Was it a 5% or lower?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

5%. That's constant. So far as the proposed CapEx budget for the current financial year is concerned, the major amount will be spent on the Petchem project only. That's about INR 7,500 crore odd, plus minus, you know, you can assume 10%. We are targeting to achieve around INR 7,500 crore. Let's see. That's. We are more or less confident that we'll be able to achieve that target. The rest are all, you know, like the third jetty that we are constructing, around INR 600 odd crores on the third jetty. Gopalpur terminal also, we are planning to start our activities, construction activities in this current year.

There also we plan to spend around INR 300-400 odd crores. This is the broad breakup. Rest are all small, you know, additional facilities, the routine CapEx. We also have a plan to put up our 5th small-scale LNG plant at Kochi, for which land has already been acquired, and we are planning to spend around INR 70 odd crores in that particular project. I think these are the broad numbers.

Yogesh Patil
Analyst, Dolat Capital

Okay, sir. Small observation on the cash flow statement side. As you guided around INR 3,000 crore kind of CapEx for FY 2026 in our year call. The cash flow statement is indicating INR 2,500 crore for the FY 2026. Secondly, a small question on the CapEx side again. Can we assume the same kind of a CapEx or confirm for the FY 2028, INR 9,000 crore?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Sorry, can you please come on, once again with your questions?

Yogesh Patil
Analyst, Dolat Capital

Yeah, sir. Observation on the cash flow statement side. In earlier call Q3 FY 2026, you had guided that kind of a INR 3,000 crore kind of a CapEx for FY 2026. If we look down into the cash flow statement, it is indicating INR 2,500 crore. Is there any delay in the CapEx for particular project? If it is, if you could clarify on that side, that's one thing. Just wanted to take a guidance on the FY 2028 CapEx. We assume on a tentative side, INR 9,000 crore kind of a CapEx for FY 2028?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah. Yeah, you see. See, what happens is the cash flow statement depicts the actual cash flow that is done. It doesn't take into account the provisioning. There, the provisioning are different, and the cash, what has been spent is INR 2,511 crore. We can say that, I mean, the whatever has, had been projected, it is going according to the plan.

Yogesh Patil
Analyst, Dolat Capital

Okay.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Again, for the same principle will also apply for FY 2027 as well. There would be out of this INR 9,000 crore, there would be at the end of the year, some, would be done in cash, and some would be in the provisioning level.

Yogesh Patil
Analyst, Dolat Capital

Okay, sir. Thanks a lot.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bineet Banka from Nomura. Please go ahead.

Bineet Banka
Analyst, Nomura

Hi, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. Sir, in terms of potential offtaker for the spot LNG that we are bringing in, who could be the potential offtaker at this price, $15-$17 per MMBtu?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

We are not, Petrade, we are not bringing spot, other than the customers like ONGC, for whom we are making endeavors to bring. It's being brought by our capacity holders for onward supply to various consuming sectors, which include CGD, fertilizers, refinery petchem.

Bineet Banka
Analyst, Nomura

Okay. Sir, Gujarat Gas has guided around 5-6 MMSCMD additional gas demand from May onwards. Assuming that all of this demand flows through Petronet LNG, I think incremental volume could be around 1.5 million tons per annum, which is close to 6%-7% of their, of your current volume. Is it the right understanding?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

If that happens, you also have calculated numbers, and the numbers seem to be correct. It all depends whether it is on a perpetual basis or a month-on-month basis. Primarily, I think they are targeting more the markets, which is incremental of 5 to 6 MMSCMD. Which is what I think Gujarat Gas has mentioned.

Bineet Banka
Analyst, Nomura

Okay, sir. Sir, lastly, in terms of utilization, I think you said, for the quarter it was around 90%, and March it was 53%. I'm now trying to get what would be the utilization implied for January, February, it's over 100%, right? Yeah.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

It was on an average about 108%.

Bineet Banka
Analyst, Nomura

Yeah. 108% for January and February. Okay. Yeah. That's all I had. Good afternoon to you. Thanks, sir.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Adarsh Hinduja, an individual investor. Please go ahead.

Adarsh Hinduja
Shareholder, Individual Investor

Hi. Yeah, I think my questions have been answered already. I wanted to understand one thing from you. There's a lot of different natural gas markers like the JKM, TTF. There's the U.S. Henry Hub natural gas. When you buy spot cargos, on what typically what rates do you negotiate these contracts at?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

The spot cargoes in India typically are linked to JKM and, or there is a specific index called as West India Market, which is also very closely related to JKM market, which is the price of the Indian market.

Adarsh Hinduja
Shareholder, Individual Investor

Could you comment on what your, in the month of March, what your spot cargo prices were, the purchase prices?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

The spot prices were around $20 in the month of March.

Adarsh Hinduja
Shareholder, Individual Investor

Okay. Got it. Thank you so much.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Hardik from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Hardik Sangani
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Yeah. Thanks for the opportunity, sir. Just want to check on, you know, there is a substantial increase in non-current assets and the other financial assets. Can you explain on that part?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

See other financial assets, when it is increased from INR 406 crore to INR 1,319 crore, that is mainly due to classification of fixed deposit, which is more than one year old. That is, has been classified into other financial assets. Which are below INR 1,000 crore that are coming under cash and cash equivalents. This is maybe a grouping issue. As far as the non-current assets are concerned, these also include the capital advances of above INR 906 crore, which pertains to our ongoing CapEx programs.

Hardik Sangani
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Okay. Okay. Can you please share what was the CapEx that was spent on the Petchem project in FY 2026?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

New CapEx for Petchem project in FY 2026.

Hardik Sangani
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Okay.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Petchem projects, FY 2026 was INR 720.

Hardik Sangani
Analyst, ICICI Securities

No, no.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

It is around INR 1,650 crore.

Hardik Sangani
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Yes.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Including advances and CWIP, total net impact is INR 1,650 crore.

Hardik Sangani
Analyst, ICICI Securities

Okay. That's really helpful, sir. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Pritesh Chheda from Lucky Investments. Please go ahead.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Yes, sir. Just one question. You know, based on, you know, your assumption of post-May we should be seeing largely normalization of cargo. Sum total for the year, you know, what kind of utilization do you see at the aggregate level for your assets? Considering that there is a Equinor cargo, which is additional, starting May. Sum total, what kind of a utilization one should assume for your assets?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

See, we firstly, we never said that May onwards things will be back to normal because it all depends on the conflict in the Middle East region, how it pans out and what happens and when Qatar resumes supplies. It is very difficult to give a number at this point of time. Yes, you're right, the contract with Equinor will also start wherein Performance Chemiserve, which is a part of Deepak Fertilisers group, will start bringing their cargo, and their first cargo is scheduled for arrival on twelfth of May.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Okay. We have two additional contracts, right? The Equinor and the ExxonMobil.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

That's right. Yes.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

These two volumes which are additional is what number?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Roughly 1 million tons in this year.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Sum total?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yes, sum total.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Okay. So just for, you know, theoretical purposes, considering, you know, what you would have some assessment of April and May, and theoretically if from June, you know, the Qatar cargos normalize, then considering that assumption, what is the utilization one should, you know, consider for your assets, along with these two new contracts that you have?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

I hope theoretical. Very theoretical.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Yeah, yeah. Theoretically, yeah.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

As we have already spoken, we are optimistic about the future and from June things may start looking normalized. Whatever numbers will happen, it is very difficult to put any number at this point of time. What indications you can calculate, we have already informed you what has been the March utilization level, what has been the January, February. Let us see what happens with numbers. Please, then you can calculate whatever the assumptions we already explained.

Speaker 21

I would request you to wait till the end of this quarter and see how things pan out.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Is there substantial improvement in the April and May utilizations?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

No, no, no. It's no. More or less at the same level.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

As March?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

As March.

Pritesh Chheda
Analyst, Lucky Investments

Okay. Okay. Okay. Thank you, sir. Thanks.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sarthak from DSP AMC. Please go ahead.

Speaker 19

Hi. Good morning. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I just have one question regarding the storage facility that is available and how much CapEx do we need to do because there was a highlight on the press release yesterday also that we need to, you know, be very vigilant as a nation that storage facilities are very lower. How much, how, as a company we are looking at our facilities and increasing storage facilities in the various assets that we have, and how much extra CapEx that we will need to do? Just wanted some clarity on that.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

For our Gopalpur project, we have already announced that we'll be constructing two tanks, and we are also planning to set up one more tank in Kochi. That's right now, we can say, our current plan is on about increasing the storage. As mentioned by our CEO yesterday in the press conference that some more tanks are also being planned at Dahej, and we are, you know, looking for land because land is an issue. Availability of land is an issue in Dahej. We are actively scouting for some additional land parcel wherein we'll be able to put up some 3-4 additional tanks.

Regarding these, additional storage tanks at Dahej, right now there is no immediate plans. It's, definitely, we should put up, additional storage facilities out there. Immediately we can say that, yes, Gopalpur, which is a board-approved, project, there we'll be putting up two tanks. One more tank we are actively considering, for our Kochi terminal.

Speaker 19

Okay, just 1 small follow-up. Any CapEx number in your mind for the one additional tank in Kochi?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

It's about around INR 1,200 crores.

Speaker 19

Okay. Got it. Yeah. Thank you so much. That's it from my side. Yeah. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Maulik Patel from Equirus. Please go ahead.

Maulik Patel
Analyst, Equirus

Yeah, hi. Just one question. Any update on the extension of contract from 2028? Have you entered into agreement with any offtakers on that?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

I think I would only say that discussions are ongoing with offtakers, and once those contracts are done, we'll definitely inform investors as well as stock exchanges.

Maulik Patel
Analyst, Equirus

Okay. Just, our contract with Qatar is from the train number three, right? Is that correct?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Can you please come out with the question? Can you please repeat the question once again?

Maulik Patel
Analyst, Equirus

Our contract with Qatar for the current existing contract of 8 million ton, is it train number three of the South Field, right?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah, Maulik, this information, we are not sharing actually. We do not share.

Maulik Patel
Analyst, Equirus

Okay. Got it. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Vivekanand Subbaraman from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.

Vivekanand Subbaraman
Analyst, Ambit Capital

Yeah. Just extending on Maulik's question on the negotiations with the offtakers for the back-to-back contract. Now, I understand that it is, it's from 2028, but you have signed a contract which is now DES, right?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yes.

Vivekanand Subbaraman
Analyst, Ambit Capital

Which was earlier FOB from Qatar. From a commercial standpoint, do you expect any meaningful changes in the nature of the contract based on the discussions that you've had so far? That's my first question. The second one is on the contracts that you had been signing for the expansion in Dahej, which is with the Deepak Group and ONGC. Is there any further discussion that you have had with your customers that you can update us on in terms of new business models like ethane storage handling, or say monetization of that CapEx? Thank you.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah. So regarding the, you know, future business plans, as and when we sign definitive agreements with the customers, we'll definitely reach out to our different stakeholders, including the stock exchanges. So far as your first question is concerned, regarding the change in terms of cargo from FOB to DES, we don't see any need for renegotiating the Incoterms.

Vivekanand Subbaraman
Analyst, Ambit Capital

Okay. Fair enough. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Nitin Tiwari from PhillipCapital. Please go ahead.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Hi there. Thanks, for the opportunity again. Just a bookkeeping question. What is the index impact for the fourth quarter and also for FY 2026 as a whole?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah. The index impact is for the fourth quarter, INR 119 positive at gross margin levels. There is a Forex loss of INR 91 crores and positive INR 8 crores at OPEX levels, and depreciation INR 77 crores and interest expense on lease liability INR 59 crores. This is for the quarter.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Okay.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

For the year, at gross margin level, positive INR 629 crores. The Forex loss is INR 199 crores. The OpEx level positive is INR 30 crores. Depreciation INR 322 crores and finance cost INR 228 crores.

Nitin Tiwari
Analyst, PhillipCapital

Understood, sir. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Varatharajan Sivasankaran from Antique Stock Broking Limited. Please go ahead.

Varatharajan Sivasankaran
Analyst, Antique Stock Broking

Thank you for the opportunity. Sir, on the trading gains part, do we have any numbers we can share?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah. It's INR 118 crores.

Varatharajan Sivasankaran
Analyst, Antique Stock Broking

Okay. Secondly, on this, parcels which are being procured from other regions like Nigeria and so on and so forth, what is the general spot availability what we see which has potential to be diverted to India? In general, if you look at the volumes flowing currently, what proportion of it would be contract and like, you know, what proportion would be spot?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Very difficult to give an answer because as we know capacity is booked by GAIL, Indian Oil, BPCL. It is their prerogative and they have capacity in other terminals in India also. It is their prerogative which cargo they want to bring to Dahej and which cargo they want to take to their other terminals. Very difficult to give a number that what will be the proportion of spot cargoes with the, their terminals.

Varatharajan Sivasankaran
Analyst, Antique Stock Broking

Yeah, I'm more concerned about, like, you know, globally and especially in the regions where you just referred to. Are there more spot parcels available, and has that spot parcel availability increased post-war?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

As and when new facilities come up, those volumes are typically broadly on spot or with portfolio players. Recently you would have heard that Golden Pass started export of their cargo for U.S. All those volumes will be becoming available to the market on spot basis.

Varatharajan Sivasankaran
Analyst, Antique Stock Broking

Okay. No, sir. Thanks a lot.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Somaiah Valliyappan from Avendus Spark. Please go ahead.

Somaiah Valliyappan
Analyst, Avendus Spark

Yeah, thanks for the opportunity, sir. My first question is on the time charter, which you have mentioned in the footnotes. We'd be able to get back to normalcy if the Strait of Hormuz issue gets resolved and we'll be getting the Middle East cargoes. Is this the right way to understand? These, we'd be able to utilize those 3x charters.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yes, those time charter vessels are specifically, you know, hired for carrying cargo from Qatar to our terminals. Once the, you know, supply resumes, these time charter vessels will be again engaged as being done earlier.

Somaiah Valliyappan
Analyst, Avendus Spark

Got it. Sir, what are the existing contract duration for these time charter vessels? Like six months? In terms of the existing contract, how many more months remain?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

It is aligned with the, our SPA terms. As and when SPA term ends, comes to an end, the time charter will also end.

Somaiah Valliyappan
Analyst, Avendus Spark

Okay. sir, in, I mean, because it's a force majeure kind of a situation, that's why we believe, the, INR 90 crores kind of a demand that's been placed for March and subsequent periods also is something that we are not liable to pay. That's the thought. Is that right understanding?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yes. Yes.

Somaiah Valliyappan
Analyst, Avendus Spark

Okay. What would be the run rate for FY 2028 in terms of CapEx? It'll be similar to this INR 9,000 crore of FY 2027?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yeah, it's, see, as has been discussed in the last call also, basically the FY 2028, FY 2027 we are saying INR 9,000 crores, and FY 2028 also should be at the same level, around 10%, more or less.

Somaiah Valliyappan
Analyst, Avendus Spark

Mm-hmm. Okay. Sir, in terms of payouts, the historical payouts is expected to continue despite the expansion, because of the cash in the balance sheet.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Oh, yes. Short answer is, yes. See, I'll not go by the payout percentage, but, you know, in absolute terms, the endeavor is to maintain the same level of dividend.

Somaiah Valliyappan
Analyst, Avendus Spark

Okay. Understood. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Gagan Dixit from Elara Securities. Please go ahead.

Gagan Dixit
Analyst, Elara Securities

Yeah, thanks for taking my question, sir. Sir, what is the status of this Kochi Bangalore pipeline? What I know, I think that Gail had pushed the timeline to, I think, September 26. Is there any update for it? What is your-

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Whatever function is running, it's perfectly in order.

Gagan Dixit
Analyst, Elara Securities

Okay. Okay. The first half of FY 2027. That's.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Yes.

Gagan Dixit
Analyst, Elara Securities

What is the Kochi utilization that we expect for FY 2028 when the full volume will be available on the pipeline?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

When the pipeline is complete, what will be the utilization of Kochi? Sir, definitely it's going to go up. There's no doubt about it because it'll be opening for different market and get connected to the national gas grid. Definitely the utilization will go up.

Gagan Dixit
Analyst, Elara Securities

Okay. Sir, my final question is about the swap volume. I think many of the, especially from GAIL, this many swap volume coming from the U.S. with the Middle East route. I assume that from that got stopped actually. Are you still getting the volume directly from the U.S. or from those customers or is this a shipping constraint that is hindering the full recovery?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

It is our capacity holders and offtakers who are bringing in these volumes.

Gagan Dixit
Analyst, Elara Securities

Okay. Okay. That's all. Yeah. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question is from the line of Falguni Dutta from Mansarovar Financial. Please go ahead.

Falguni Dutta
Analyst, Mansarovar Financial

Hello. Yeah, good morning, sir. I just had one clarification question. What was the capacity utilization for Dahej for March that you mentioned?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Around 53%.

Falguni Dutta
Analyst, Mansarovar Financial

5 3?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

5 3, yeah.

Falguni Dutta
Analyst, Mansarovar Financial

Okay. Thank you, sir. Sir, would it be possible to say that how much is it now as we speak?

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

I have already shared that it is hovering around the same level.

Falguni Dutta
Analyst, Mansarovar Financial

Okay. Okay, sir. Thank you. That's all from my side.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will take that as the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to the management for closing comments. Thank you and over to you, sir.

Saurav Mitra
Director of Finance and CFO, Petronet LNG

Thank you. Thank you, for joining us. We hope that, the situation in the Gulf, improves, very soon, which is going to have a very positive impact in our operations and, as well as on the financials. We also expect to come out, with, you know, a brighter picture of, the financials, of the company, when we meet next. Thank you so much.

Operator

Thank you, members of the management. On behalf of Ashika Institutional Equities, that concludes this conference. We thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.

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