Cairn India on Thursday said its net profit during the third quarter of 2013-14 dropped 13.78 per cent.
The explorer reported profit after tax for the third quarter at Rs 2,884 crore (Rs 3,345 crore). “The drop in profit is primarily due to foreign exchange loss on dollar deposits with the strengthening of the rupee against the dollar,” Cairn said in a statement to BSE.
The net profit figure was below market expectations and most analysts predicted the Vedanta Group company would report net profit of at least Rs 3,100 crore.
“The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter was Rs 3,555 crore, down 2 per cent compared to the previous quarter (Rs 3,619 crore) as the contribution from higher revenues was primarily offset by increased exploration costs and a one-time charge on account of adoption of fair value methodology of stock option valuation,” it said.
Cairn India reported a 9.6 per cent increase in output from the Barmer block in Rajasthan. Rajasthan production touched 186,359 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boepd: oil plus some gas) during the third quarter of the current fiscal, against 169,977 boepd in the same quarter of the previous year.
The block remains on track to deliver the expected 2013-14 exit production rate of over 200,000 boepd, the company said.
The Cairn India stock closed at Rs 324.65, up 0.76 per cent on the BSE on Thursday.