ONGC shares up 2% post Q4 results

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose as much as 2% on Tuesday after the state-run oil and gas explorer posted a 78% year-on-year jump in its consolidated net profit at ₹11,526 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The government-owned enterprise recorded ₹6,478-crore profit in Q4 FY23.

For the full fiscal 2023-24, ONGC clocked the highest-ever ₹57,101-crore profit, up 68% compared with ₹34,046 crore profit in the previous year.

Revenue increased marginally by 1.6% year-on-year to ₹1.66 lakh crore in the fourth quarter as against ₹1.64 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year. For the full fiscal 2024, revenue declined 6% to ₹6.43 lakh crore from ₹6.84 lakh crore in FY23.

Reacting to the development, shares of ONGC rose 1.75% in opening trade to hit a high of ₹284 on the BSE. The company’s market cap stands at over ₹3.5 lakh crore. The stock has gained 37% in 2024 and 70% over the past year.

ONGC says the total dividend for FY24 would be 245% (₹12.25 per share of face value ₹5 each) with a total payout of ₹15,411 crore. This includes an interim dividend of 195% (₹9.75 per share) already paid during the year and final dividend of 50% (₹2.50 per share) recommended by the board.

ONGC’s crude oil production in Q4 FY24 saw an increase of 2.4% over Q4 FY23 whereas gas production decreased by 3%.

ONGC declared 11 discoveries (6 in onland, 5 in offshore) during FY24. Out of these, 6 are prospects (1 in onland, 5 in offshore) and 5 are new pool (onland) discoveries.

The oil and gas major monetised 7 hydrocarbon discoveries during FY24 including the 3 discoveries notified during the fiscal of 2023-24.

ONGC drilled 541 wells in FY24, the highest recorded in the past 34 years, comprising 103 exploratory and 438 development wells.

The state-run entity invested around ₹37,000 crore on capex in FY24, thus achieving highest-ever utilisation (excluding acquisitions) in a financial year.

ONGC’s overseas arm, ONGC Videsh, registered a 3.4% incremental growth in production of oil and gas in FY24 compared to the previous year. This positive performance was driven by strong contributions from five operated or jointly operated assets, namely MECL & CPO-5 in Colombia, GPOC & SPOC in South Sudan, and Sancristobal in Venezuela despite natural decline, geopolitical tensions, and local issues.

ONGC’s oil marketing subsidiary Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd achieved the highest-ever total sales volume of 46.82 MMT (including exports) during FY24, registering a growth of 7.8% as against 43.45 MMT during the previous year. With the commissioning of 428 HPCL retail outlets during the quarter, the total number of outlets now stands at 22,022 as of March 31, 2024.