Cairn India has laid off over 200 employees after a 53 per cent drop in its third-quarter net profit due to sliding crude oil prices.
“The past few months have brought significant changes in the global oil and gas space. The reductions in crude oil prices have deleteriously impacted the sector, globally. At Cairn, we are aligning our working to enable a sustainable competitive business and to deliver our business goals,” the company said in a statement.
“While we continue to focus on our key projects to deliver on our commitment, we are simultaneously working on resource optimisation to drive efficiencies for value generation, in the current environment,” it added.
The crude from Cairn’s main producing field in Rajasthan sells at 10-11 per cent discount to Brent, because of its quality. As a result, the falling Brent crude prices have started impacting the company’s bottomline.
The company’s consolidated net profit for the third quarter slipped 53 per cent to ₹1,350 crore from ₹2,884 crore in the same period last year. During the quarter, the company had sold its crude at a discount of 10.9 per cent to the average Brent price of $76 a barrel.
In the current quarter till February 18, Brent prices have slipped by almost $20 a barrel to $54.45 a barrel. The fall in crude oil prices has also forced the company to review and re-engineer its projects.
On Thursday, the company’s shares closed 1.80 per cent lower at ₹254.05.