(Reuters) -State-run explorer Oil India reported a sharp drop in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, while falling short of analysts’ expectations, due to softer oil prices, even as demand remained upbeat.
Increased fuel demand in two out of three months of the quarter, led by gasoline and aviation fuel, could not offset the sharp fall in oil prices.
The company’s crude oil price realization, or price at which it sells, dropped 22% compared to the previous year, reaching $66.20 per barrel.
Global Brent crude oil prices, a key raw material for refiners, dropped 9.5% in the April-June quarter, following a 1.2% decline last year.
That led revenues from the crude oil segment, which forms two-thirds of the topline, to drop 21%, with overall revenue falling 14%.
Oil India’s standalone net profit, which excludes earnings from its joint ventures and overseas operations, decreased 45% to 8.13 billion rupees ($92.8 million) in the quarter ended June 30.
Analysts, on average, had estimated a profit of 13.2 billion rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG.
Rival Oil and Natural Gas Corp is scheduled to report later in the day.
($1 = 87.6310 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Manvi Pant; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Vijay Kishore)
