Oil India, the state-owned oil company, has seen its profit fall as fuel prices drop
Oil India, a state-owned explorer, reported a sharp fall in its first-quarter profits on Tuesday. This was due to lower oil prices and a sluggish demand, but the company still fell short of analyst expectations.
The sharp drop in oil prices could not compensate for the increased fuel demand, primarily due to gasoline and aviation fuel.
The price realized by the company for crude oil, or the price it sells at, fell 22% from last year to $66.20 a barrel.
Global Brent crude prices, which are a major raw material used by refiners, fell 9.5% during the quarter April-June, after a decline of 1.2% last year.
The crude oil segment, comprising two thirds of the total revenue, fell by 21%. Overall, revenues dropped by 14%.
Oil India's net profit on its own, excluding earnings from joint ventures or overseas operations, fell by 45% in the three months ended June 30, to $8.13 billion rupees (about $92.8 million).
According to LSEG data, analysts had on average estimated a profit between 13.2 and 13.6 billion rupees.
The rival Oil and Natural gas Corp will report at a later time. ($1 = 87.6310 Indian Rupees)
(source: Reuters)
