 "ONGC Dec quarter consolidated profit jumps 26% on higher oil, gas prices")
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported a 26 per cent jump in its third quarter net profit on the back of a rise in oil and natural gas prices.
Net profit of Rs 11,044.73 crore, or Rs 8.78 per share, in October-December compared with Rs 8,763.72 crore, or Rs 6.97 per share, in the same period a year back, according to a company's stock exchange filing.
The profit was, however, lower than the Rs 12,825.99 crore earnings in the immediately preceding quarter of July-September.
The rise in profitability was helped by higher realisation on crude oil and gas the firm produces and sells. This offset the continuing decline in oil and gas production.
ONGC earned USD 87.13 for every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the third quarter of the current fiscal, up from USD 75.73 a barrel realisation in the year-ago period.
Crude oil is refined at refineries to produce fuels such as petrol and diesel.
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Prices of natural gas, which is used as fuel to produce electricity, make fertilisers and converted into CNG for use in automobiles, rose to USD 8.57 per million British thermal unit from USD 2.90.
The firm produced 5.39 million tonnes of crude oil in October-December, down from 5.45 million tonnes a year back.
Gas output fell nearly 4 per cent to 5.35 billion cubic metres.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2022, profit after tax recorded growth of 24 per cent to Rs 39,076.57 crore from Rs 31,446.20 crore in the year-ago period.
The firm had reported Rs 40,305.74 crore net profit in the full 2021-22 fiscal year.
The turnover increased by 35.5 per cent during Q3 FY-23 to Rs 38,583.29 crore.
The Board of ONGC has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 4 per share (face value of Rs 5). This is in addition to the first interim dividend of Rs 6.75 per share declared earlier.
The total dividend payout in the second interim dividend would be Rs 5,032 crore.
"Uncertainties and constraints across the global supply chain due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have adversely affected the production of crude oil and gas," a company statement said.
"Significant peaks in energy prices, political stands of different nations in the aforementioned matter have significantly impacted energy productivity, affordability, and cost inflation, besides the lingering aftermath of the restrictive conditions due to the COVID pandemic."
ONGC said it made a total of seven oil and gas discoveries during the current fiscal 2022-23 (April 2022 to March 2023).
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