ONGC Q2 sales seen up 3% to Rs 20,740 cr

By Gautam Broker, Research Analyst at CNBC-TV18

State-controlled oil & gas producer ONGC's profit after tax is expected to grow by 1 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 6,140 crore in the quarter ended September 2012. Sales are seen going up by 3 percent to Rs 20,740 crore from Rs 20,084.3 crore during the same period. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are likely to rise 6.4 percent QoQ to Rs 11,742 crore in the quarter. Operating profit margin is seen improving 140 basis points to 56.6 percent in the three months period ended September 2012 from 55.2 percent in the previous quarter but OPM is likely to fall on YoY basis on account of additional cess of Rs 2500 per tonne. Analysts expect ONGC's gross realizations at around USD 110 a barrel. Net of subsidy, the realizations should be up 5 percent sequentially, say analysts. Gas production is expected to be flat sequentially while oil production is likely to be about 1-2 percent higher QoQ.