Oil India profit up 33% in Q2

Duliajan, Assam: State-owned Oil India Limited (OIL) has reported a net profit of Rs 862.01 crore for the second quarter of the financial year 2018-2019. This is 33.44% higher than the Rs 645.97 crore net profit reported by the company in the corresponding period of the financial year 2017-18.

Benefiting from a rise in international oil prices and depreciation of the rupee, the company also registered a 28% jump in its September quarter net profit. The total income of the company was higher as well, at Rs 4,031.41 crore during the period under review, compared with Rs 2,804.73 crore in the same period of fiscal 2017-2018. The increase in the crude oil price has reflected in the earnings of the company.

The net profit in July-September period, Rs 862.01 crore, or Rs 7.59 per share, was higher than Rs 645.97 crore, or Rs 5.69 a share, net profit in the same period last year, the company said in a statement.

The company earned $73.42 for every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the quarter, up from $50.10 a barrel realisation in the year ago period.

Also, it benefited from rupee averaging at 70.15 to a US dollar in the second quarter of current fiscal as compared to 64.29 to a US dollar in the same period of previous financial year. The company bills its customers in US dollar and stands to gain when rupee depreciates.

Oil production was almost flat at 0.85 million tonnes while natural gas output marginally dipped to 0.73 billion cubic metres.

“Crude price realisation in rupee terms was higher by 57.32 percent to Rs 4,988.47 per barrel in H1 FY2018-19 as compared to Rs 3,170.87 a barrel during H1 FY2017-18,” the statement said, adding: The natural gas production during the financial year 2018-19 is down by 3.96% to 1,430 MMSCM as compared to 1,489 MMSCM during the financial year 2017-18 due to short uplift by certain consumers.