New Delhi: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported a sharp 35% year-on-year decline in standalone net profit for the January-March quarter, coming in at ₹6,448 crore. The fall was attributed primarily to significantly higher write-offs of exploratory well costs and lower crude price realizations.
During the fourth quarter, ONGC wrote off ₹4,173 crore in exploration expenses, a steep rise from ₹794 crore in the same period last year. Crude oil price realization from nomination fields fell to $73.72 per barrel, down from $80.81 per barrel in Q4 FY24. Despite this, revenue from operations edged up slightly by 1% to ₹34,982 crore.
On a consolidated basis, the company’s net profit dropped 20.18% to ₹8,856.33 crore in Q4 FY25 compared to ₹11,096.03 crore a year earlier. Revenue remained largely flat at ₹1.70 lakh crore against ₹1.72 lakh crore in the same period last fiscal.
For the full financial year 2024-25, ONGC’s standalone net profit declined 12% to ₹35,610 crore, while annual revenue dipped 0.5% to ₹137,846 crore.
Production and Investment Highlights
ONGC reported marginal production declines in both oil and gas in the March quarter. Crude oil production stood at 4.70 million metric tonnes (MMT), while natural gas production was 4.893 billion cubic metres (BCM).
Despite quarterly declines, ONGC’s total standalone crude oil output for FY25 rose by 0.9% to 18.56 MMT. The company also drilled 578 wells during the year, marking the highest number of wells drilled in the last 35 years.
Gas prices remained stable at $6.5 per MMBtu during the quarter.
Discoveries and Capital Expenditure
During FY25, ONGC reported nine hydrocarbon discoveries – five onland and four offshore. Of these, seven are categorized as prospects, and two are new pool discoveries.
The company made a substantial capital investment of approximately ₹62,000 crore during the year. This includes ₹18,365 crore in ONGC Petro additions Ltd (OPaL) and ₹4,600 crore in ONGC Green Ltd for the acquisition of PTC Energy and Ayana Renewables, underscoring its push towards diversification and clean energy.
Dividend and Corporate Support
The board of directors recommended a final dividend of ₹1.25 per share. In a significant move, the board also approved extending corporate guarantee support of up to ₹20,000 crore for its subsidiary OPaL to help raise debt.
Market Reaction
Ahead of the earnings announcement, ONGC’s stock closed nearly flat at ₹248.75 on the BSE, even as the benchmark Sensex gained 0.5% for the day.
