Oil India Ltd reported a net profit of ₹889.69 crore for the October-December quarter, a 25 per cent year-on-year rise on the back of a heavy tax refund which has covered its operational losses.

The firm received a tax refund of ₹1,158.54 crore in the quarter as well as deferred tax of ₹191.57 crore. Operationally, however, it made a loss before tax of ₹405.63 crore, as opposed to a profit before tax of ₹1,012.67 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

Total income for the quarter stood at ₹2,246.2 crore, 27.4 per cent lower on a year-on-year basis.

In its meeting on Thursday, the company’s board of directors declared an interim dividend of ₹3.5 per share (35 per cent of paid-up capital), to be paid on or before March 12.

For the nine months period April-December 2020, Oil India reported a net profit of ₹1,297.73 crore, 45.5 per cent lower on a year-on-year basis, and a total income of ₹6,412.91 crore, 36 per cent lower.

Crude oil business

In the third quarter, the worst-hit segment was the company’s crude oil business, which made a loss of ₹154.95 crore, as opposed to a profit of ₹871.41 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The firm’s natural gas, pipeline transmission, and renewable energy segments were also in the red, with only the LPG business giving better results than pre-Covid levels.

“During the nine months ended December 31, the company has assessed the potential impact of Covid-19 pandemic on its existing operations. The company does not anticipate any significant challenge in continuing its operations and meeting financial obligations,” Oil India said in a statement.

In May last year, a blowout had occurred in the firm’s Baghjan oilfield in Assam. On June 9, the well had caught fire. The total loss arising out of the blowout, which has now been contained, is about ₹378.93 crore, the company said.

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