Oil India posts 43% fall in quarterly profit on low selling price, rising expenses

Indian explorer Oil India reported a 43% slump in second-quarter profit on Friday, as crude realisations, or the price at which it sells the product, declined, while higher expenses also weighed on margins.

The state-owned firm’s standalone profit, which excludes earnings from joint ventures and overseas operations, fell to 10.44 billion rupees ($118.8 million) for the quarter ended September 30 from 18.34 billion rupees last year.

The company’s crude oil price realisation slid 14% to $68.19 per barrel, from $79.33 per barrel a year ago.

While fuel demand in India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, rose for two out of the three months in the July-September quarter, the company’s revenue from operations fell 1.1% on-year to 54.57 billion rupees.

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Prices of global brent crude oil were down 0.25% in the quarter.

The company’s total expenses also jumped about 22% to 49.7 billion rupees, while operating margin for the quarter shrunk to 13.69% from 30.43% a year earlier.

Oil India’s shares dropped 4.7% during the July-September quarter, while larger peer ONGC fell nearly 2%.