New Delhi, Dec. 24: The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has declared an interim dividend of 180 per cent or Rs 18 per share.

According to an ONGC statement, in absolute terms, the dividend would mean a payout of Rs 3,850 crore on the post-bonus paid-up capital of Rs 2,139 crore, which includes the government’s share (74.14 per cent) of Rs 2,854 crore. This is the highest-ever interim dividend paid by ONGC.

Moreover, ONGC will be paying a dividend tax on the above, which works out to Rs 540 crore.

The company has decided to pay the dividend immediately after the record date of December 28, without waiting for the mandatory 30-day period.

ONGC has stated that the interim dividend is on the post-bonus expanded equity capital of the company. Earlier during the year, ONGC had issued bonus shares in the ratio of 1:2, thus increasing its capital from Rs 1,426 crore to Rs 2,139 crore.

The interim dividend of 180 per cent in the current fiscal is equivalent to 270 per cent in pre-bonus terms which is 8 per cent higher than the interim dividend of last fiscal.

ONGC had declared an interim dividend of 250 per cent and an aggregate dividend of 450 per cent, amounting to Rs 6,417 crore, during the last financial year.

The net profit of the corporation for the half-year of 2006-07 is Rs 8,293 crore, up 11 per cent from Rs 7,457 crore for the corresponding period of the previous year.