ONGC shares fall 3% following weak Q3 earnings, Jefferies maintains 'buy'

ONGC shares have had a decent start to the new year, rising 10 percent in January.

Shares of ONGC slipped 3 percent to Rs 254 in morning trade on February 1, the budget day, after the oil major disappointed investors with its 7 percent drop in consolidated net profit for the third quarter.

The company's net profit stood at Rs 9,783.64 crore in the quarter ended December 31 of the current financial year, compared to Rs 10,511.23 crore in the same period of the previous financial year, an exchange filing said.

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The company had reported a net profit of Rs 9,878.44 crore in the September quarter, the filing showed. The revenue from operations stood at Rs 166,096.68 crore in the reported quarter, which was marginally lower over Rs 167,356.63 crore in the year-ago period, the stock filing said. In the September quarter, the revenue was reported at Rs 158329.1 crore.

Following the result, Jefferies maintained a 'Buy' call on ONGC with a target price of Rs 375 per share. The company's Q3 standalone EBITDA was slightly ahead of estimates, supported by marginally higher domestic production and in-line realizations. However, profit fell short of expectations due to higher depreciation and amortization (D&A), lower dividend income, and increased tax rates. Consolidated profit was also below estimates, impacted by weaker performance from subsidiaries, the international brokerage added.

The public sector undertaking has also announced an interim dividend of Rs 5 per equity share for the current financial year and February 7th has been fixed as the record date, the company statement said.

At about 9:20 am, ONGC shares traded 2 percent lower at Rs 257. ONGC shares have had a decent start to the new year, rising 10 percent in January.