Shares of state-owned oil explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were gaining on Tuesday after the firm posted a strong jump in fourth-quarter earnings that went against analyst expectations.

What Happened: ONGC reported a 78% growth in consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter to ₹11,526.53 crore, up from ₹6,478.23 crore in the same period last year..

Revenue from operations for the fourth quarter rose marginally to ₹1.66 lakh crore, compared to ₹1.64 lakh crore in the same period the previous year.

Analysts had expected ONGC's net profit to fall by over 11% year on year to ₹8,434 crore, with Q4 revenue anticipated to decline slightly by 1.11% to ₹34,404 crore. They also predicted a half-percent drop in EBITDA to ₹17,251 crore, citing lower administered price mechanism (APM) gas prices and reduced oil and gas production, partly offset by higher crude oil realisation.

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However, crude oil price realisation from ONGC's nominated fields was $80.81 per barrel for Q4, up from $77.12 per barrel the previous year.

The company’s board has recommended a final dividend of ₹2.50 per equity share for the financial year 2024, pending shareholder approval.

EBITDA for Q4 increased to ₹25,772 crore from ₹15,752 crore in the corresponding period last year.

ONGC's fourth-quarter total crude oil production increased 2.4% to 5.36 million metric tonnes, though total oil production for FY24 declined by 1.6%. Gas production decreased 3% to 5.1 billion cubic meters.

Price Action: ONGC’s share price was up 0.54% at ₹280.50 near the start of trade on Tuesday.

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