ONGC has reported a 31 per cent year-on-year decline in consolidated net profit for the October-December quarter of the current financial year.
For the quarter under review, the consolidated net profit stood at ₹3,736.53 crore, while total income fell by 8 per cent on a year-on-year basis to ₹1,02,416.51 crore.
The latest bottomline performance was also lower than net profit of ₹5,801 crore recorded in the quarter ended September 30, 2020.
In its meeting on Saturday, the company’s board of directors declared an interim dividend of ₹1.75 per equity share of ₹5 each. The total payout on this account will be ₹2,201.55 crore.
The board was originally due to meet on Friday, but the meeting had to be postponed “due to some pressing concerns”, a company spokesperson said.
For the first nine months of the ongoing financial year, the company’s net profit stood at ₹6,065.51 crore, 47 per cent lower year-on-year, while total income stood at ₹2,51,569.83 crore, 23 per cent lower year-on-year.
The company’s refining and marketing business was the only segment that improved its performance against pre-Covid levels both in the third quarter and the first nine months of the ongoing financial year. Profit from this segment for the nine month period grew a whopping 353 per cent to reach ₹8805.54 crore.
IGX stake purchase
The board also approved the acquisition of 5 per cent equity in Indian Gas Exchange Ltd (IGX) “as strategic investment,” the firm said in a statement.
A majority-owned subsidiary of Indian Energy Exchange, IGX since the beginning of the year has also onboarded Adani Total Gas, Torrent Gas, and GAIL as investors, each of whom have bought a 5 per cent stake.