Q4 Results: ONGC’s Profit Falls Most In 13 Quarters On Lower Oil Prices, Higher Costs
Net profit of the state-run company slipped 51 percent to Rs 4,045 crore in the three months period on a sequential basis.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.’s quarterly profit fell the most in 13 quarters, missing estimates, due to lower oil prices and higher costs.
Net profit slumped 51 percent sequentially to Rs 4,045 crore in the January-March period, the state-run oil and gas explorer said in an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 6,485-crore profit estimated by a consensus of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
The company’s other expenses rose 49 percent over the preceding quarter to Rs 5,760 crore. Revenue fell 3.18 percent—the biggest drop in 12 quarters—to Rs 26,758 crore. But that’s higher than the Rs 25,233-crore estimated.
Its operating profit declined 25.34 percent over the previous quarter to Rs 12,371 crore in the three months ended March, while margin contracted more than 13 percentage points to 46.23 percent. Analysts expected an operating profit of Rs 13,481 crore and margin at 54.9 percent.
ONGC’s net realisation was at $61.29 a barrel versus $66.4 in the previous quarter. Its crude sales were down 4.9 percent year-on-year to 5.9 million metric tonnes and gas sales were up 7.9 percent to 6.558 billion cubic metres.
The company’s board also recommended a final dividend of Rs 0.75 per equity share having a face value of Rs 5 each, subject to necessary approval of members at the ensuing annual general meeting.
Shares of ONGC closed 1.1 percent lower at Rs 170 apiece on the BSE before the earnings announcement. That compares with a 1.21 percent gain in the benchmark Nifty Energy Index.