Cairn India Q1 net falls 24 percent with crude price drop

Oil major Cairn India on Tuesday reported a 24 percent drop in its net profit for the first quarter ended June caused by the drop in international crude oil prices.

The company's net profit during April-June at Rs.835 crore was lower than the Rs.1,093 crore posted in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement here.

The operator of country's biggest onshore oilfield, Cairn's turnover in the quarter fell 41 percent to Rs.2,627 crore.

The Anil Aggarwal-led Cairn earned $56 per barrel for the oil it sold in the first quarter of the current fiscal, at 42 percent lower than the $97 a barrel realised in the corresponding period a year ago.

The decline in revenue was also due to the "increase in the share of Profit Petroleum payable to the government of India. This quarter witnessed a jump from the 30 percent tranche to 40 percent" in Rajasthan, the statement said.

"EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) margins were boosted by lower operating costs which for Rajasthan waterflood case have come down by 10 percent from the previous fiscal average of $5.8 to $5.2 per barrel oil equivalent in Q1 FY16 as a result of reduction in well and facility maintenance costs," it added.

Earlier on Tuesday, addressing the 9th annual general meeting of company shareholders here, Cairn India chairman Navin Agarwal called for a stable and predictable investment regime and consistency in policy to boost investor confidence.

"Our nation is blessed with significant untapped oil and gas resources. However, the sector needs encouragement to maximise this potential. We need policies that are tailored to reflect and respond to India's status of an oil and gas importer," he said.

Agarwal said the Rajasthan block has significant potential and Cairn has received regulatory approval for the development plan to increase production at the Raageshwari Deep gas field.

"Natural gas in the Rajasthan block represents a good opportunity and we are well positioned to leverage this prospect," he said.

Cairn India closed on Tuesday at Rs.162.55 a share, down 3 percent, on the BSE.