ONGC Q3 net falls 64 percent to Rs.1,286 crore on oil price slump

State-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) on Thursday declared a huge net profit fall of 64 percent in the third quarter ended December 31, 2015, at Rs.1,286 crore, caused by plunging global crude oil prices and by provisioning for resultant impairment loss.

ONGC had posted a net profit of Rs.3,571 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal, it said in a statement here.

"The company has provided an amount of Rs.3,994 crore as impairment loss due to fall in crude oil prices in international market during the quarter," it said.

Gross revenue declined 10.5 percent to Rs.18,498 crore in the quarter under consideration, compared to Rs.20,679.6 crore in same quarter of last year.

ONGC's operating profit, or EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation cost), dropped 8.3 percent compared to the corresponding quarter to Rs.8,043 crore but margin expanded by 110 basis points to 43.5 percent.

Other income in the October-December quarter declined 24.3 percent to Rs.861.6 crore, while tax expenditure fell 83.2 percent to Rs.368.7 crore, compared to the same period a year ago.

ONGC chairman D.K.Sarraf said on Thursday that the company has not given any subsidy on crude sales to oil marketing companies during the quarter.

ONGC stock closed trade on Thursday, ahead of the results, at Rs.202.80 a share, 11.20 points, or 5.23 percent, lower than its previous close, on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).