Don't judge OMCs by their value

Oil marketing companies are likely to post strong earnings in FY26, given softer crude and unchanged retail prices.

- Ashish Agrawal

Shares of India’s state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have declined 6-8% over the past month, hit by recent volatility in marketing margins. The margin on diesel fell to an 18-month low of negative ₹0.3 per litre in the third week of November amid US sanctions on Russian firms that have disrupted diesel exports.

Still, the selloff in these stocks appears sentiment driven rather than rooted in fundamentals, given the gains from low crude oil prices, unchanged retail prices, and the drop in LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) under-recoveries. Brent crude is trading around $62 per barrel, compared with about $67 per barrel in the half year ended September (HIFY26) and $79 per barrel in FY25.