Ukraine war-led spike in prices buoy Q4 performance of ONGC, Oil India

Reversal in price trends, policy measures such as windfall tax by the government and fall in refining margins are among key downside risks

PSU energy majors ONGC and Oil India (OIL) came out with their January-March quarter (Q4) results late last week. Given the excessive volatility through the last quarter and the steady rise in crude and gas prices before that, these were eagerly awaited. Although both companies delivered profitability gains, sequentially (QoQ) and year-on-year (YoY), ONGC disappointed because of higher-than-anticipated operating expenses and lower production. OIL, on the other hand, did well with higher production. Both producers benefited from the higher prices realised due to the rally caused by fears of supply disruptions after the start of the Ukraine war.

ONGC's Ebitda of