ONGC posts net profit of Rs 9,869 cr in Q4, declares total dividend of 245%

New Delhi: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) March quarter net profit soared 19 times as the year-ago period had a one-time exceptional provision, while it posted a record earning for the full fiscal.

The company's standalone net profit of Rs 9,869 crore in January-March - the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 - compared with a profit of Rs 528 crore in the same period of the previous financial year, according to a company statement.

India's top oil and gas producer had made a provision of Rs 9,235 crore in the January-March 2023 quarter towards disputed taxes for the period from April 1, 2016, to March 31, 2022.

ONGC reported a 4.3 per cent rise in crude oil production in the fourth quarter this year to 4.71 million tonnes. The price realised for the same also was higher at USD 80.81 per barrel compared to USD 77.12 a barrel in January-March 2023.

Gas price was, however, lower at USD 6.50 per million British thermal units as opposed to USD 8.57 in the previous year. Also, gas production fell 2.4 per cent to 4.95 billion cubic metres.

Its revenue from operation was 4.6 per cent lower at Rs 34,637 crore.

For the full 2023-24 fiscal (April 2023 to March 2024), ONGC reported the highest-ever standalone net profit of Rs 40,526 crore on a revenue of Rs 1.38 lakh crore. This compared with Rs 40,097 crore net profit on a revenue of Rs 1.55 lakh crore.

On a consolidated basis after taking into account the earnings of subsidiaries, including listed companies Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and MRPL, ONGC had a record consolidated net profit of Rs 57,101 crore for FY24.

Oil production for the full year was 0.7 per cent lower at 18.4 million tonnes while gas output fell 3.2 per cent to 19.97 bcm.

The company declared a total dividend of 245 per cent (Rs 12.25 per share of face value Rs 5 each) with a total payout of Rs 15,411 crore. This includes an interim dividend of 195 per cent (Rs 9.75 per share) already paid during the year and a final dividend of 50 per cent (Rs 2.50 per share) recommended by the Board.

ONGC said it has invested around Rs 37,000 crore of capex in FY24 (2023-24 fiscal) compared to Rs 30,208 crore in the previous fiscal.

Its overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd ended the year with 7.178 million tonnes of crude oil production and 3.34 bcm of gas output. This compared with 6.349 million tonnes of crude oil production in FY23 (2022-23) and 3.822 bcm of gas output.

OVL posted a net profit of Rs 639 crore against Rs 1,660 crore in FY23, mainly due to higher impairment, the company statement said.

Its turnover decreased 18.2 per cent to Rs 9,553 crore "mainly due to non-accounting of revenue from Sakhalin-1 (project in Russia) and lower crude price realisation", it added.