Oil & Natural Gas Corp.'s second-quarter profit rose as other income jumped and expenses fell.
Net profit surged 323% sequentially to Rs 18,347.73 crore in the July-September period, according to an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 6,585.2-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
To be sure, the company had opted for a lower tax regime during the second quarter. That caused the deferred tax to decrease by Rs 8,541 crore in the three months to September, also aiding the bottom line.
Highlights (QoQ)
Revenue rose 5.8% to Rs 24,353.61 crore, compared with the estimated Rs 25,265 crore.
Total expenditure fell 2.7% to Rs 16,347.78 crore.
Other income jumped 5.9 times to Rs 3,146.5 crore.
Operating profit rose 13.9% to Rs 12,527.53 crore.
Operating margin expanded to 51.4% from 47.8%.
A rise in crude prices aided ONGC's net oil realisation — the price an explorer earns after subsidies are deducted — in the second quarter. Net crude realisation jumped 5.74% sequentially to $69.36 a barrel. Brent crude averaged at $73.2 a barrel, up 5.9% over the preceding three months. Gas realisation remained unchanged on a steady domestic price at $1.79 per mmBtu.
The government has increased the domestic price of the natural gas under the administrative price mechanism for the second half of FY22.
Domestic natural gas production by ONGC and its associates increased 2.97% sequentially to 5.47 billion cubic metres in the second quarter. Domestic crude production, too, rose 1.41% to 5.47 MMT.
Meanwhile, the company's board declared an interim dividend of Rs 5.5 apiece of face value of Rs 5 each and has fixed Nov. 23 as the record date.
Shares of ONGC closed 0.75% higher before the results were announced compared with a 1.28% rise in the benchmark Sensex.
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