India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) reported a third-quarter profit miss on Friday, as buoyant fuel demand failed to cushion the explorer from lower crude realisations.The state-owned firm’s standalone profit fell 17% to 82.40 billion rupees ($952 million) in the October-December period, and came far below analysts’ average expectation of 179.31 billion rupees.
Standalone earnings exclude profit from its joint ventures and operations outside the country. ONGC contributes to around 71% of domestic crude oil production.The company’s revenue from operations fell 3% on-year to 337.17 billion rupees, as its crude oil price realisation, or the price at which it sells the product, dropped nearly 11% to $72.57 per barrel in the third quarter.
Oil will likely trade around $70 a barrel in 2025, a Reuters poll showed, as weak demand from China and rising global supplies offset OPEC+ led efforts to shore up the market.For explorers like ONGC and peer Oil India – which is slated to report quarterly earnings next month – little upside for oil prices is bad news.
But the quarterly topline still managed to tread above estimates, thanks to strong demand for the fossil fuel in Asia’s third largest economy.Fuel consumption in India, the world’s third-biggest oil consumer, ticked up during the quarter due to higher manufacturing and industrial activity. ($1 = 86.5500 Indian rupees)
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