ONGC Q4 net slumps 40 percent, lags expectations

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Oil & Natural Gas Corp posted a 40 percent slump in quarterly profit, lagging expectations, as lower average crude prices during the period and higher costs and write-offs hurt margins.

The state-run company reported a net profit of 33.89 billion rupees for its fourth quarter ended March, down from 56.44 billion rupees a year earlier.

Analysts on average, had expected the company to post a net profit of 47.08 billion rupees for the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine data. Net sales rose 14 percent to 213.89 billion rupees.

Shares of ONGC, India's second-biggest company by market value, closed 0.3 percent higher ahead of the results. The stock has risen nearly a quarter so far in 2013, outpacing a 5 percent rise in the sectoral index.

 

(Reporting by Prashant Mehra)