ONGC Reported 7 Times Profit Growth in Q3 of FY 22

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Saturday said its net profit surged to Rs 8,764 crore in the third quarter of the current financial year against Rs 1,258 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year, posting year-on-year increase of 596.7 per cent.

For the first nine months of the current financial year, ONGC posted a net profit of Rs 31,446 crore against Rs 4,512 crore recorded in April-December 2020 period, registering an increase of 596.9 per cent.

ONGC Board in its 347th meeting held on 11th February 2022, approved the results for the third quarter of 2021-22.

The company's gross revenue in Q3 of 2021-22 surged to Rs 28,474 crore, registering quarter-on-quarter growth of 67.3 per cent.

During the nine months ended December 31, 2021, the Company had decided to opt for lower tax regime u/s 115BAA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, with effect from FY 2020-21. Accordingly, the Company has recognised the provision for tax expenses and re-measured its net deferred tax liabilities.

The net impact due to availing of the option has resulted in a decrease in deferred tax by Rs 8,689 crore and a decrease in current tax by Rs 2,107 crore, ONGC said in a statement.

The company's Board has approved 2nd interim dividend of 35 per cent, i.e. Rs 1.75 on each equity share of Rs 5. The total payout on this account will be Rs 2,201.55 crore.

The production of crude oil and gas has declined during current year mainly due to restrictive conditions created by cyclone Tauktae & COVID, delay in mobilisation of MOPU Sagar Samrat to WO-16 Cluster project, modification work at Hazira and reservoir issues in S1 Vashistha fields in Eastern Offshore.

While talking about the results, ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Alka Mittal informed that ONGC has drawn up plans to increase its capex spend in the next few years.

"A major part of this spend will be on exploration with acquisition of new acreages; use of latest technology in seismic data Acquisition, Processing and Interpretation (API) and on development and infrastructure projects for fast tracking the monetization of discovered resources. ONGC is also in the process of incorporating a wholly owned subsidiary to focus and grow its gas business," Mittal said.