At Rs 18,348 cr, ONGC's Q2 profit highest in a quarter for any Indian firm

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has reported the highest ever quarterly profit by any Indian company till date. At Rs 18,348 crore, the standalone net profit for the second quarter of FY22 is 565.3 per cent higher than its Rs 2,758-crore profit in the comparable period of the previous financial year. 

On a group level, ONGC's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 18,749 crore in the period under review, up from Rs 5,675 crore in the same period last year.

This return outshines the Rs 14,512.81 crore net profit that IndianOil had reported in the January-March 2013 quarter. It is also significantly higher than the Rs 14,688.02-crore net profit (Rs 3,749.32 crore attributable to owners) that Tata Steel reported in the last quarter of the financial year 2017-18.

The ONGC Board also approved an interim dividend of 110 per cent or Rs 5.50 on each equity share of Rs 5. "The total payout on this account will be ₹ 6,919 crore. The record date for distribution of dividend has been fixed for November 23, 2021," the company said.

The higher profit is despite total oil and gas production dipping. ONGC's total crude oil output dipped 3.8 per cent to 5.47 million tonnes while gas production stood 7 per cent lower at 5.467 billion cubic metres.

Standalone gross revenue for the company rose to Rs 24,353 crore in the quarter ending September 2021, up from Rs 16,916 crore in the same months of the financial year 2020-21.

The higher gains are because of improvement in crude oil prices during this period. Realisation from nominated fields stood at $69.36 a barrel, up from $41.38 a barrel in the comparable months.

Consolidated gross revenue stood at Rs 1,22,029 crore, up from Rs 83,619 crore.