New Delhi, May 26: The net profit of state-owned explorer ONGC Ltd fell 6 per cent to Rs 4,340.18 crore in the fourth quarter because of higher salary expenses and additional royalty outgo.

The net profit was Rs 4,624.30 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2015-16.

The company had to shell out Rs 2,444 crore to clear royalty payments to Gujarat and Assam as ordered by the Supreme Court.

The payment was due after the government agreed with the contention of the two states that the state-owned company should pay royalty on the gross price for crude and not the net price it realised after paying for the fuel subsidies.

Employee costs increased more than 54 per cent during the quarter to Rs 7,492 crore. This was on account of pay revision of officers and union workers that came into effect on January 1. The company had provisioned Rs 1,944 crore as estimated long-term benefit obligations such as gratuity, an official statement said.

ONGC's revenue from operations for the fourth quarter of 2016-17 stood at Rs 26,233.56 crore, 29 per cent higher than the Rs 20,297.83 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Despite the lower net profits, net realisation of crude from the nominated fields rose to $54.91 per barrel during the quarter under review, 57.4 per cent higher than $34.88 per barrel realised in the year-ago quarter.

For the joint venture blocks, net realisation rose 67.9 per cent to $48.72 per barrel in the March quarter of 2016-17 from $29.01 per barrel a year ago.

For the full fiscal, the company reported a 10.9 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 17,900 crore on a flat revenue of Rs 77,907 crore.

ONGC's crude oil production rose marginally by 0.8 per cent in January-March to 6.39 million tonnes but fell 1.5 per cent in the full year to 25.534 million tonnes.

The company's board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 0.80 per equity share with a face value of Rs 5, which works out to a payout of Rs 1,027 crore.