Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd

NSE:MRPL

Q2-2026 Earnings Call

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Hi, good morning, everybody. On behalf of PL Capital, we would like to welcome you to this second quarter briefing of MRPL. From the management, we have Mr. M. Shyamprasad Kamath, Managing Director; Mr. Devendra Kumar, Director Finance; Mr. Nandakumar, Director Refiners; Mr. Deepak Prabhakar, ED Marketing; Mr. BHV Prasad, ED Projects. And we also have Mr. Avin, Senior Manager Marketing.

So congratulations for the phenomenal performance in this quarter, sir. And I would like to request you to give a briefing and post that, we can open the floor for Q&A. Over to you, sir.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Good morning to everyone, and thank you for joining us on the Second Quarter Earnings Call. I'm Shyamprasad Kamath, MD and CEO of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited. Along with my leadership team, I will walk you through our Q2 performance, the operating environment we faced and our near-term priorities.

First, the operating highlights for the quarter. Throughput, we processed 4.4 million metric tons of crude and other feedstocks. We completed our turnaround of one of the complex during Q1. And post that, we have come back fully, and that is how we have been able to display this kind of an excellent throughput, showing our capabilities of the refinery once again.

Fuel and loss and product yields. The company posted a fuel and loss of 10.42%. Yes, the number is slightly on a higher side because post turnaround, there were some initial hiccups in the plant. But going forward, we expect this to be normal and the target is -- could be around 10% for the rest of the fiscal year.

Revenue on the financial performance. Revenue from operations came at around INR 25,953 crores, reflecting the rise in the cracks and the base crude price compared. We reported an EBITDA of INR 1,565 crores and a PAT of INR 639 crores and a substantial jump over the last year Q2 and subsequently from Q1 of '25, '26. On the market context, global refining margins were better during the quarter due to some amount of supply disruptions and the normal growth demand in the country.

Various agencies forecast tells us that cracks may remain healthy for the rest of the year. However, global markets, as you know, are a complex way of many factors, including demand supply, geopolitical scenario, et cetera. Hence hazarding a forecast may not be appropriate here. Domestically, the diesel grew at around 3% year-on-year basis, while the gasoline demand remained resilient around 7% growth. ATF, we saw growth of about 1% year-on-year and going forward, the domestic demand growth is expected to be resilient and our focus on retail outlets will continue to deliver so that incremental margins are delivered for us.

We expect Q3 also to be above 4.43 million metric tons of crude processing. And with GRM already showing stronger in October. That is with the crude price -- if the crude price does not fluctuate too much, we should also be able to post good numbers going ahead in the rest of the remaining quarters.

We will be delighted and open to answer any of your queries. Thank you.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

[Operator Instructions]

We have one question from Achal Shah.

[Unknown Analyst]

Sir, am I audible?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes.

[Unknown Analyst]

Sir, today's news, we saw that there is some uncertainty with respect to the Russian crude sourcing and there is a chance that we may have to stop sourcing from now. So do you see, sir, any risk to that tune? And what is your take on that?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

While yes, there is some kind of a tweak which has come from the U.S. President today. But there is another news, which has also come saying that we will be doing what is best in the country. That's what the government has made a statement, also there's a counterstatement. Now going forward, yes, it is not just the Russian barrels that we are going to look at. We have already started looking at other crudes, which are available on discount by our own methods of sourcing crude.

And on an economic basis, I'm confident that we will be able to sail through. Regarding the Russian barrels, we still believe that government may not be -- government has been maintaining that what is the lowest cost of energy sourcing, that will continue for us. So we are confident that it will continue in the near future.

[Unknown Analyst]

Understood. And sir, the final question is with respect to the reported GRMs and any inventory impact on those reported. So what will be the adjusted GRMs. Can you throw some light on that?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

Good morning. This is Davendra here. See this -- following the industry practice and peer companies, we have discontinued reporting GRM that is in the published that is in a published kind of way. However, there will be indicative because for our management collection. But looking at the overall, published results, you should be able to figure out that the GRMs reflect the reality of good cracks in the current quarter. And roughly, I'd say it is double of the previous.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Wardha, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Just a couple of queries from my side, sir. It is regard to the use of gas in the system, has there been an increase quarter-on-quarter? And how do you see it going forward?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

We are consuming gas as both as a fuel and as a feed. So on an economic basis, we keep on looking at it, and we have been optimizing the gas intake. Going forward, we are hopeful that the gas prices are going to be economical only for us.

[Unknown Analyst]

So at the maximum like, what is the kind of amount of gas, which you can potentially use in your refinery, sir, for both naphtha -- I mean, for hydrogen as well as fuel.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Nanda, you would like to give some numbers on that?

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

Yes, sir.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Nanda, you are on mute.

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

Yes, audible now?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, you're audible.

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

Yes. We have a hydrogen unit, which can take gas, and we help power plants in our refinery as well as in the aromatic complex, which have gas turbines. So both can also consume gas. And in the extreme case, we can even take some gas into our general fuel of the refinery. So Presently, I think I can put my outer limit considering the refinery and aromatic complex, which will be 0.7 MMSCMD. And with some modification in the near term, probably we can go up to as high as 1 MMSCMD natural gas.

Though presently, we are not up to that limit, we are lower because of the economic outlook. The gas is not -- to that extent, it is not yet, but we would be able to capitalize on that opportunity.

[Unknown Analyst]

As against that, what would be the current run rate, sir, you said 0.7 MMSCMD to 1 MMSCMD.

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

It's close to 0.5 MMSCMD, I can say, together.

[Unknown Analyst]

Also in the current quarter vis-a-vis the previous quarter, if you can share any details as to the throughput of not crude, but other products, so in the aromatic complex or for that matter, any other chemical production, if you can share some volume, has there been a significant increase?

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

MD sir, you'd like to answer or should I take it?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

I will have to take out the data. So one second -- maybe we can come back on this question.

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

No, I can pick in. See, as far as -- if you see our polypropylene, our operating capacity is still either design or slightly above the design numbers, more than 100%. And secondary process unit is also running more than its design number. As far as the aromatic is concerned, we produce benzene, which is, I would say, as a byproduct we extract. When we make MS, we need to extract out benzene from the naphtha streams that we take it out.

And we also make MTO, mineral turpentine oil. We are also introducing -- we introduced already toluene, which is another aromatic product. So we are into that. And toluene is actually a small quantity now at present because we just started the production, but we can go. So aromatic complex presently, we are producing benzene as a byproduct from the extraction and the aromatic complex primarily making reformat, which is actually sold as a feedstock also.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Akash, you can go ahead and ask your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Am I audible?

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Yes.

[Unknown Analyst]

Just one question. Just want to understand in terms of the sourcing from Russia, how it has moved over the quarters? What's the proportion in the second quarter current run rate and what was it in the first quarter and how it is trending?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Can you -- you know it was -- there was dome disturbance. Can you repeat the question, please?

[Unknown Analyst]

In terms of crude sourcing, what is the crude sourcing from Russia in Q2? What was it in Q1? And what is -- how it is trending in like -- I mean, going ahead, how the company plans in terms of crude sourcing from Russia? What's the percentage of the overall crude basket for MRPL.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

See, there has not been much variation from the kind of crude -- the Russian barrels that we have been sourcing in the previous quarters. No much variation. Only during the month of -- in the first quarter, there was some reduction because we had a plant turnaround, to that extent only we have reduced. Or else, we are now going back at the kind of levels in which we were there in the previous quarters. There is no change in that.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. And so that would be around what -- how much would that be, like 35%, 40% or lower than that?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, maybe it's somewhere around that number, between 30% -- 35% to 40%.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Daval, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yes, am I audible to you?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, Daval.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yes. So sir, I have one question regarding the FX. So does the company have a guidance or where does it see the dollar to be like in INR USD? And what could be the complete impact on GRMs for the third and the fourth quarter, if you can share right on that?

Second question I have is around sustainable aviation fuel. Given the government has a 1% mandate and IOC has already started some work on it. Is there anything on cards for MRPL as well?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, I will take the second question first. On the sustainable aviation fuel, we are already implementing SAF project in Mangalore, which has been mandated to us. It is based on an indigenous technology with a production rate of around -- a target of 20 kiloliters per day. This is one way. We are also looking at trying to produce SAF also from co-processing in one of our units. So we have completed some amount of design works on that. And whatever is the 1% target, we will be ready by the date of, say, January 2027 to meet those targets.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. That's helpful. I understand that sourcing and all that is in place, right? Because I understand this will be much more expensive. And this will -- anyway, if you can answer the question regarding FX, I may later check with you offline regarding sustainable aviation fuel.

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

Yes. I'll answer that. See, we are -- if you can visualize it, almost 40% of our total turnover is from our export sales itself. And even the domestic sale, most of it is linked with the RTP, which is again based on the international prices. To that extent, we are actually muted on that account. So your concern about FX rates having any adverse impact would not be -- that is, interpretation would not be fully correct in that case.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Deepak, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Congratulations for a good set of numbers. So my primary question will be apart falling crude prices, what has contributed to our EBITDA margin expansion?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

There are 2 things primarily that is from Q1 to Q2, the quarter 1, the throughput was 3.5 million tonnes against the average of around 4.5 million tonnes. This year -- this quarter, we have restored it to the routine 4.5 million tonnes range. So a clear jump of 1 MMT approximately from Q1 to Q2. And second is the improvement in the cracks -- product cracks. So our export sales have been pretty good, even the domestic sales, which is linked to that. So both of them have contributed to Q2 profitability.

[Unknown Analyst]

Got it. Coming over the macros, as the America is constantly pushing us apart from the Russian oil, how do you see that over the government?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

Sir, you would like to take it.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, on the ground per se, in the Indian context, if I can say or in the MRPLs context, we have not tried to slow down or anything. For us, it is business as you usual with respect to sourcing because there is -- we are sourcing those Russian barrel that is available.

[Unknown Analyst]

Got it. And one last. Who is your technology partner into SAF?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

It is a domestic developed by EIL and IIT. It's an IIT technology along with EIL.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sumit, you can go ahead and umute yourself and ask your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

First is how -- what -- how many retail outlets are operational right now and what are our road map for the same?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes. As we speak, we have commissioned about 185 retail outlets in the 3 states, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. By the end of this year, we target to cross 250. That is the number. And we also plan to add at least another minimum of around 100 to 130 retail outlets on a year-on-year basis from there.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. Secondly, when can we expect a separate reporting of the retail outlet revenue and the international sales?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

Right now, we consider that the retail outlet sales is forming a small part of the overall sales, and it is in a growing phase. So until it stabilizes, we would like to keep it on a consolidated basis, and once it takes up on its own. Otherwise, you will keep looking and comparing the expansion cost and comparing with the sales from the only retail outlet, which would not give us a correct, true and fair picture. So maybe next year onwards as early as next year onwards, yes.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. Two more questions. One is the Russian crude which we are buying, how much discount we are getting right now?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

This is a question, which keeps coming up on and off in this forum. The Russian discount is to be treated at two levels. One is the direct kind of discount, which you look at, which could vary anywhere between $0.50 to maybe about $4. That is the range we have seen in the past. It is not fixed for each cargo which comes. More importantly, the second part is the timing issue. These are all crudes, which are on delivered basis. So it derisks our timing issue. And just to give a sense of proportion, even if two crudes are at level, the preference will be for Russian barrels just because of the contractual terms. It's on delivered basis.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. Got it. Final question from my side. Are we buying U.S. crude also? And if yes, how much costlier is it because of the logistic cost or other factors?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

No. See, any crude that we source is on an economic basis. So the U.S. crude is also, there is a basket when we carry out the evaluation. Currently, it is not getting picked up on an economic basis as of now. But going forward, the situation can be different. We did buy Russian crude in the last quarter of in the last financial year. We have purchased one cargo of Russian -- U.S. crude.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Indrakumar, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

My question is regarding the retail outlets. So if I remember last quarter, we added around 170 retail outlets. And right now, we have only 185. So I just wanted to know the incremental addition of outlets from previous quarter to current quarter.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

In this financial year, we have added almost 18 retail outlets now. And as we speak, another 35 retail outlets are under construction. So typically, the construction period is about 75 to 90 days, for constructing a retail outlet and bringing it to commissioning. So that is where we are today.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sir, we have a couple of questions in the chat box. I would request you to answer on that one. So, first question is, any update on proposed phase 4 expansion or any petrochemical diversification projects? And if you could give any time lines or expected CapEx on that part?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

See, there are 2 parts of it. One, based on the refinery streams which are available, the final report on that has come, and that is under review now. The phase 4 expansion also, the study is also being carried out, and that report is also yet to be concluded because the current market dynamics are -- we are looking at various options on that, considering the current market for the petrochemical products.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sure, sir. The next question is on the isobutylbenzene project that we have said we will be doing the pilot upon. If you could give any time line for that as to what is the update on it?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

The unit is almost ready for declaring a mechanical completion, which probably we'll be declaring probably in the next week to 10 days, mechanical completion. And by mid-November to third November, we are confident of commissioning the -- or taking the first trials on this unit.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

So another question is on the payables. Payable seem to have increased in H1. So if you could give the reasons, and if you could also assist us with a normalized level of payables on that?

[Unknown Executive]

Avin this side. There is a short-term bump in the payable side. That will be settled because of contractual terms rate. The payments are getting due by 15th of October or 16th of October. So it will be settled in these 2 weeks. Actually, it would have been settled till now also. That will normalize in Q3. There's no extraordinary jump or something like that.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

I think, Achal, do you have a follow-up question?

[Unknown Analyst]

Yes, sir. Just wanted to know -- so what is the average throughput per outlet we are seeing? How are the outlets performing? And sir, why is there this push by private players and even you guys to expand on the retail side?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

I would request ED Marketing, Deepak, if you can take that question on the average sales per RO?

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

Yes, Deepak here. So typically, we have been seeing an average sale of about 140 kl per RO to 160 kl per RO per month. And this is in very much in comparison with what other public sector OMCs also achieved. While private sector OMCs, some of the OMCs have higher sales because of a different model, certain other companies adopt a model of low volume, high penetration. We are approaching it as a middle path where we would also look at both penetration as well as minimum threshold volume of at least 130 kl to 140 kl per month per outlet.

[Unknown Analyst]

And sir, on the part where, why is there a drive to increase both from OMC side and private side, for like expanding the outlet rather than exporting it?

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

So see, there is a strong -- as MD said in the beginning of the presentation, there is a strong domestic growth happening in both the MS as well as HSD. So there is still adequate space in the market for more number of retail outlets. And it is also a fact that while there is a lot of concentration in urban areas as we move to rural areas and to emerging areas like MDRs and state highways, the penetration is not all that good. Plus there is a lot of new highway expansion that's happening within the country. So these locations also would need to be fed. So that's why there is a significant push towards -- not just by the private and stand-alone refineries, I would say even by the established players, there is a push towards installing new retail outlets.

[Unknown Analyst]

Understood. Sir, just one clarification from CFO sir. Sir, you mentioned about the derisking part, the second portion of the Russian discount part. Can you elaborate because I was not able to understand that portion.

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

The second part is selling the contractual terms. It is crudes are delivered normally FOB or delivered, that is the pricing is decided on the date of delivery. So there is a timing issue. Crudes coming from U.S. is more than a month away. So you are fixing up a price at the start of the journey. Here, the price is fixed, finalized at the delivery point. So it reduces the timing difference between the pricing when it is actually reaching the refinery gates, and when you sell the product after maybe 25 days of processing. So that reduces the uncertainty in the pricing.

[Unknown Analyst]

That, sir, like majority will be DES and FOB versus CIF for MRPL?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

Yes. Russian barrels are delivered, yes.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Mayank, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

So first question is on the product cracks. So we have seen diesel cracks kind of going up, has almost crossed $20. And gasoline also, which was weak, is also starting to catch up. And also we have seen some tightening in naphtha also. Could you give us some color in terms of supply-demand dynamics? Is it purely because some supply outages because of the Russia-Ukraine war, that's causing a supply crunch and cracks are going up? Or is there anything else different that's happening on the global space?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

There is one more point, which is there. There are some of these refineries, which are getting closed up. That is also adding into the supply-demand issue. Like we have seen a couple of refineries getting closed down in the U.S. Australia, we understand only 1 refinery is operating now, that is also on the verge of probably getting closed down, something like that. New Zealand has practically closed down the refinery. So apart from the geopolitical things, some of these refineries getting closed down is also pushing the supply-demand imbalance.

[Unknown Analyst]

Understood, sir. On the demand side, is there anything else? I mean demand estimates have been cut down through the year. What started at like 1.2 million barrels a day to 1.3 million barrels a day has now come down to 0.6 million barrels a day. Is this sustaining at these levels or you're seeing demand to be trending even lower than what was expected in recent times?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

See, domestic demand, as I mentioned, MS is resilient and we are expecting it to grow. With the recent, what, the changes in the GST also, we have seen the kind of sales that have got picked up in the automobile sector. The diesel demand is also -- now that monsoons are over, and there was a good monsoon, we are expecting the diesel demand also to come back. And we are seeing that now. It's almost 2% to 3% is the demand for diesel also.

[Unknown Analyst]

Understood. Sir, with respect to Russia sourcing, I mean, these are all on spot basis? Or do we have some contracts, medium-term contracts for this?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

These are all, I would say, on a spot basis. We don't have a kind of a term deals for Russian suppliers.

[Unknown Analyst]

Got it, sir. And also if the Russian barrels have to be replaced, which will be the ideal mix of crude that we look for as a replacement?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

See, it's a very difficult kind of question, which depending on how the product cracks are and how the demand supplies are, the crude economics change. So it is difficult to say that A crude will be replacing the B crude. It's basically on economics and given on that particular period of time.

[Unknown Analyst]

Got it, sir. Sir, in terms of your CapEx outlook, how do we look at it for the next couple of years and also in terms of deleveraging, how do we look at it?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

We do have a normal CapEx for the refinery, like the routine revamping or enhancement of live projects or the smaller projects, like just -- sir has just mentioned about the isobutyl project. In addition, there is a ongoing CapEx for phase 4, the initial part of it, so plans are offered. Only thing is we cannot give any concrete details about the phase 4. The study is still being -- that is finalized and to be reviewed internally at the highest of levels. So that is about the phase 4, that is the major part.

Apart from that, there are some JVs which are under consideration at high level and with the parent company. And it will be taken up as and when something concrete is available. So sharing any details would be too preliminary at this stage. Regarding your second part, can you just repeat it, so that I don't miss out on the accuracy part.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yes, sir. The question was more on deleveraging. And also if you could give what...

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

Yes, we have an upcoming SET payable in end of this calendar year. And we are on target, on schedule to payback from the internal resources, et cetera. And given the market conditions, we do not expect it to be refinanced. That is our current plan.

[Unknown Analyst]

Understood, sir. And FY '26, what is our CapEx plan for the current year?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

CapEx plan is in the range of typically INR 1,500 crores, that is the normal. If there is any movement on phase 4, so that will be enhanced suitably. And then if there is a major project, then that will be leveraged accordingly. But that is still some time away.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sir, we have a few more questions in the chat box, so we'll just take it one by one. So what is the difference in logistic cost from U.S. versus that from Middle East?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

It could be, if I can just put up a number, around $3 per barrel. See, it again depends. U.S. cargoes at times, we take it on delivered basis also. So it is difficult for us to really put a number. And it all again depends on the kind of cargo sizes we are talking about because typically, U.S. we will always be looking at a 2 million barrel versus the Middle East, I can always look at a 1 million barrel.

Vessel availability, it plays a major role in the freight. Depending on whether a Suezmax or VLCC availability. We have seen for a Suezmax, for cargo, VLCC is cheaper. So those kind of scenarios also we have been seeing. So putting really a hard number is difficult, but on a thumb rule, you can tell it's around $3 differential.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sir, the next question is, what was the split between domestic sales and exports in the quarter 2.

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

As we mentioned, it's about 40% export sales.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sure, sir. One person is asking the ForEx loss that we had of INR 355-odd crores. Was that on account of crude consumed or account of the crude, which is lying in the inventory?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

No. ForEx loss is on account of two things what we see there. One is the realized, that is on the transaction part, and the other is the revaluation of our outstanding ECB loan. So it's about INR 100-odd crores on the realized part, on the transaction part, and the balance is towards the revaluation, which is mark-to-market. So it is not something which is sustained. It could get actually reversed as the exchange rates move.

Secondly, we did discuss some of the ForEx movement earlier that you don't actually lose out. If there is a movement in foreign exchange, what you see in the expenditure side is actually more like a contra entry, you get compensated on the movement.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sure, sir. Another question is, the person is asking about our initiatives towards energy transition, like biofuel blending or, let's say, hydrogen adoption or decarbonization. And are there any milestones that we intend to complete in FY '26, for example?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

FY '26, no, the projects are all right now. In terms of SAF, I mentioned about the project, which is on. In terms of decarbonization, we have kind of a power input project with which we are expecting our carbon emission also to come down. So that is expected to be commissioned by middle of next year. So that's a CapEx project which is also going up.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sure, sir. We have last question from Sumit. Sumit, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Any maintenance planned during the remaining year of the -- remaining time period of this year or next year maybe?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

There is no planned maintenance during the balance of year, I mentioned in my opening remarks that we have completed the turnaround of one of the complexes, which was due.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. And the retail outlets, which we are opening, are we just focusing on liquid fuels or we are also keeping some provisions for maybe CNG or EV charging stations out there?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Deepak, you would like to take that question?

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

Yes, sir. Deepak here. Yes, all our retail outlets would feature on alternate fuel option. It could be CNG or it could be an EV charger. We look at it as a mix of requirement of the customers. So in many places, we would install chargers, which are capable for 2- and 3-wheelers because that's the current market space. And some of the larger highway outlets, we'd be also looking at larger charging stations in collaboration with some other companies. So yes, we do have a mix of all fuels planned for our retail outlets, while the focus remains on liquid fuels at the moment.

[Unknown Analyst]

Last question from my side. On the hedging policy, do we hedge or anything on the currency part? Or we just keep it open like?

[Devendra Kumar, executive]

We do have a small hedge on the crude purchases. But we don't do hedge in terms of paper transactions and commodities as such.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

We have a follow-up question from Indra. Can you go ahead and ask your question?

[Unknown Analyst]

Sir, my question is regarding the crude sourcing. So I've seen the result that there has been some sourcing from Kuwait. Just wanted to understand, is there any difference in terms of premium or discount in crude sourcing from Russia versus Kuwait, whether it is kind of positive as compared to Russia?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, it is slightly positive compared to Russia. That is all I can tell you.

[Unknown Analyst]

Any number if you can provide, please?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Well, it is difficult to put a hard number there for me because that will be challenging because it is not possible to share that number. But it's slightly at a positive to the Russian one.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Gagan, you can mute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

My question is regarding the OMPL. So what is the production volume in the last quarter? And if you could just give the sense about what are the typically average...

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Which one. Can you repeat the question, please. Gagan, can you repeat your question.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Gagan, can you please repeat your question? There was a lot of background noise. Management is not able to understand.

[Unknown Analyst]

Yes, I'm going to a quiet place. My question is that for the OMPL, what is this production volume in the last quarter, I mean, in the September quarter? And if you can give some sense about some key products, what are the prices and this margin -- gross margin in a dollar per ton basis in the last quarter?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Right now because I don't have the data right now, but all I can tell you is the complex in the quarter 2, we have operated beyond 100%. And we were on a reformat mode of operation from that complex and making benzene also. So I'll have to pull out the data right now, I don't have it with me.

[Unknown Analyst]

Okay. Okay. So mostly is the reformat. And even, sir, what is the average realization? That will be helpful, sir.

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

Sir, can I chip in here?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Yes, please, Deepak.

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

Gagan, OMPL as an entity does not exist. It is a fully integrated aromatic complex for us. And as such, the main purpose of doing the merger was also to operate on an integrated basis. So we really don't look at OMPL as a separate entity where we need to calculate margins and things like that separately. So it is part and parcel of our overall refining margin.

[Unknown Analyst]

Even if you can give us a sense about the reformat, the prices, that will be helpful, otherwise okay, sir.

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

Reformat is typically linked with one of the MS grades, higher run MS grades. Typically, MOGA is 97 or higher.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Achal, you can unmute yourself and go ahead with your question.

[Unknown Analyst]

Sir, my final question is to Deepak sir. So sir, as we see crude moderate further, do you expect any excise duty hike or RSP cut in the MS or HLG price at retail outlet levels?

[Deepak Prabhakar P., executive]

No. That's, I think, a question that we will have to answer when the time comes. While we have seen the entire range of cracks and prices in the past 1, 1.5 years, and we have seen retail outlet prices remain stable. So we expect that to continue. But then I am not really anticipating an excise duty changes, unless, of course, the impact of the recent GST 2.0 has been very significant on the states, But which is not really the case, at least October month indications are that it is fairly neutral. So it looks as if we may see stable prices going forward.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Sir, we have the last question in the chat box, where the person is asking a rough breakdown of petrol, diesel, jet fuel for Q2 as well as for first half?

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

In terms of quantity, right?

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Yes, sir, either quantity or yield, I think both should be good.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

In terms of the light distillates in quarter 2, we were at around 30% -- 29.8% compared to 31.4% in Q1. Middle distillates in Q2 was 53.6% versus about 49.6% in Q1.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Thank you, sir. So that was the last question. So on behalf of Prabhudas Lilladher, we would like to thank all the participants for the valuable time. And we would like to thank the management for giving us this opportunity to host this call and to interact with the investors and give answers in detail for their queries.

Thank you very much, sir. All the best for the future.

[Mundkur Kamath, executive]

Thank you. Thank you all, and happy Deepawali to all.

[Swarnendu Bhushan, analyst]

Happy Deepawali, sir.

[Nandakumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive]

Thank you, and happy Diwali. Bye.