Oil India reports 40% jump in Dec qtr profit on high output, better pricing

BENGALURU (Reuters) -State-run explorer Oil India reported a bigger-than-expected 40% jump in third-quarter profit on Friday, aided by increased production and better price realisation.

Crude oil production for the three months ended Dec 31 increased 7.03% from a year earlier, while natural gas output rose 1.64%, fuelling a more than 57% jump in revenue from operations to 58.79 billion rupees ($12.1 million).

The company said it posted its highest ever profit in a quarter due to better pricing and higher output of crude oil and natural gas.

Profit rose to 17.46 billion rupees, while analysts, on average, had expected a profit of 14.44 billion rupees, according to Refinitv IBES data.

Demand for crude and natural gas has remained elevated as the economy rebounded from the pandemic-induced slump.

Natural gas segment posted a profit before tax of 10.91 billion rupees, compared with a loss of 1.08 billion rupees a year ago.

The profit was hit by a windfall tax India imposed on oil producers in July.

The company's expenses rose over 18% to 36.79 billion rupees, mainly due to 5.03 billion rupees of excise duty.

Oil India shares settled 2.4% lower ahead of the earnings.

Shares advanced 4.7% in 2022, compared to a more than 14% rise in the Nifty Energy Index

($1 = 82.4570 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nishit Navin in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)