The Hindu Business Line : BPCL sees 6 pc growth in petro product sales

BHARAT Petroleum Corporation Ltd on Friday said petroleum product sales are expected to grow by about 6 per cent this fiscal to over 22 million tonnes from 20.86 million tonnes last fiscal.

"Total product sales are likely to increase by 5.5-6 per cent this fiscal to between 22-23 million tonnes," the Executive Director (Retail) of BPCL, Mr S. Krishnamurti, told presspersons here after launching the `Tadka' brand of food outlets along the national highways.

Diesel sales were likely to grow 8-8.5 per cent to around eight million tonnes and petrol sales would rise marginally by 1-2 per cent to about three million tonnes, he said.

BPCL would also open 600 fuel stations this fiscal to take the total number to more than 6,000 across the country.

"We have already opened 300 outlets so far and another 300 would be in place by the end of the fiscal," he said.

In 2003-04, the company had opened about 700 fuel stations, he added.

`Tadka' food outlets: On the company's new initiative, Mr Krishnamurti said the `Tadka' food outlets, the first of which has been opened near Gajraula on NH-24 Delhi-Lucknow highway, are targeted at providing value-added services to highway travellers.

The company would open 70-80 such food joints in the next fiscal, at an investment of Rs 8-10 lakh per outlet, he said.

He added that it would be on a partnership basis where BPCL would incur the capital expenditure while the franchisee would take care of the running expenses. "While some of these outlets would be catering to general travellers, the others would be specifically customised for the truckers," he said.

"With the Golden Quadrilateral project in full swing, highway travel is one of the most important growth areas in the industry.

"We want to transform the way India travels on highways and this is the key motivator behind our decision to provide all essential facilities on the highways and reasonably priced eating outlets are a critical part of it," he said.

The company expected to garner about Rs 85-88 crore revenue from non-fuel sales this fiscal.