ONGC sees Rs 248 crore loss in Q4

New Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has swung to a loss of Rs 248 crore in the fourth quarter after it provided for disputed taxes on royalty.

It had reported a profit of Rs 8,860 crore in the year-ago quarter. Revenues rose 5% year-on-year to Rs 36,293 crore in the fourth quarter on higher gas prices.

“During the quarter and year ended March 31, 2023, the company has provided Rs. 12,107 crore towards disputed taxes of sales tax /goods and services tax on royalty for the period from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2023 together with interest thereon,” ONGC said in a statement. This “adversely impacted the profitability” for the fourth quarter as well as for the full year and the company “shall continue to contest such disputed matters before various forums based on the legal opinion,” it added.

The earnings were also hurt by the rise in exploration cost write-off, which increased 76% year-on-year to Rs 4,469 crore in the fourth quarter.

Profit for the full year 2022-23 fell 3.7% to Rs 38,829 crore. Annual revenue rose 41% to Rs 1,55,517 crore.

ONGC’s crude price realization from the nominated fields fell 12% year-on-year to Rs 6,343 per barrel in the fourth quarter, while gas price realization rose 195% to $8.57 per MMBtu.

The company’s crude production fell 2.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, and gas output shrank 1.5%.

The company has declared a final dividend of 50 paise per share. Ahead of earnings, shares in ONGC closed 1.62% lower on Friday when the BSE Sensex ended 1% higher.