State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Tuesday reported a 26 percent year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit at Rs 11,044.7 crore for the third quarter that ended December 31, 2022.

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In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 8,764 crore. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 12,001 crore for the quarter under review. 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.

In the December quarter, total revenue stood at Rs 38,583.3 crore during the period under review, up 0.7 percent against Rs 38,321 crore in the September quarter. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted revenue of Rs 39,242 crore for the quarter under review.

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At the operating level, EBITDA jumped 8.5 percent to Rs 20,410.8 crore in the December quarter of this fiscal over Rs 18,812 crore in the September quarter. EBITDA margin stood at 52.9 percent in the December quarter as compared to 49.1 percent in the September quarter. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.

ONGC earned $87.13 for every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the third quarter of the current fiscal, up from $75.73 a barrel realisation in the year-ago period. Crude oil is refined at refineries to produce fuels such as petrol and diesel.

Prices of natural gas, which is used as fuel to produce electricity, make fertilisers and converted into CNG for use in automobiles, rose to $8.57 per million British thermal units from $2.90.

The firm produced 5.39 million tonnes of crude oil in October-December, down from 5.45 million tonne a year back. Gas output fell nearly 4 percent to 5.35 billion cubic metres.

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For the nine months ended December 31, 2022, profit after tax recorded growth of 24 percent to Rs 39,076.57 crore from Rs 31,446.20 crore in the year-ago period. The firm reported Rs 40,305.74 crore net profit in the full 2021-22 fiscal year. The turnover increased by 35.5 percent 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.

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"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).

(Edited by : Pradeep John)

First Published:Feb 14, 2023 8:54 PM IST