ONGC Reports 67% Drop In Net Profit, Announces Interim Dividend

On Saturday, state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported a nearly two-thirds decline in net profit for the December-ended quarter at Rs 1,378.23 crore when compared to Rs 4,226 crore in the same period a year ago. Revenue was down 28% year-on-year to Rs 17,024 crore.

ONGC's board has also approved an interim dividend of 35%, i.e. Rs 1.75 on shares of Rs 5 each. The total payout on this account will be Rs 2,201.55 crore. The record date for distribution of dividend has been fixed for 20 February 2021 which has been intimated to the stock exchanges.

"The total payout on this account will be Rs 2,201.55 crore," the statement said.

The average price of crude oil from fields operated by ONGC slipped a quarter to Rs 3,186 per barrel.

The company realised $43.9 on every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the third quarter of the current fiscal, down from $58.24 a barrel it had realised in the same period a year back.

Government-mandated gas price dropped to $1.79 per million British thermal units from $3.23 per mmBtu rate it got in October-December 2019.

"Despite countrywide lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, ONGC has almost reached last year's production levels in case of crude oil from its operated blocks. The shortfall in gas production is primarily due to less offtake by customers due to COVID-19 pandemic," the company said in a statement.

Shares of ONGC closed 2.4% lower at Rs 97 on Friday.