Oil India's Q2 profit drops 80% to Rs 2,363 cr by litigation charge

BENGALURU (Reuters) - State-run explorer Oil India on Wednesday reported an over 80% drop in second-quarter profit as it set aside 23.63 billion rupees for an ongoing litigation.

Profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 dropped to 3.25 billion rupees from 17.21 billion rupees an year ago. However, profit before tax from its crude oil segment rose nearly 42%, while its natural gas segment rose over 24%, it said in a statement.

Oil India took on charges related to an ongoing litigation over a service tax demand raised in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The company continues to contest such disputed matters before various forums, it said.

 

Revenue for the quarter rose 2.4% to 59.13 billion rupees.

Peer Oil And Natural Gas Corporation Ltd is expected to report results on Friday.

Oil India shares settled 0.3% lower ahead of the earnings while rose 49.2% this year, compared to a 6.8% rise in the Nifty Energy Index.

The company's board also declared an interim dividend of 3.50 rupees per share.

 

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das in Bengaluru)