Cairn India posts smaller-than-expected fall in Q2 profit at Rs 673 cr

Revenue fell 44% from a year earlier to Rs 2,242 cr

Cairn India Ltd, India's largest private sector crude oil producer, reported a smaller-than-expected 70 percent fall in quarterly net profit on Wednesday after foreign exchange gains and lower taxes helped offset slumping oil prices.

Consolidated net profit for the July-September quarter fell to Rs 673 crore ($103.28 million) from Rs 2,278 crore a year earlier.

But that handily beat consensus estimates for a profit of Rs 588 crore, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters.

Cairn said it booked forex gains of Rs 381 crore while its tax expenses fell from the April-June quarter.

Revenue fell 44 percent from a year earlier to Rs 2,242 crore in the second quarter.

Cairn said average Brent crude prices fell 18 percent in July-September compared with the previous quarter, hurting average oil realisations.

However, Cairn India said it was optimistic of meeting its production targets for 2015-16.

($1 = 65.1225 Indian rupees)