New Delhi, Nov. 4: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has posted a 60 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 8,642 crore in the second quarter ended September against Rs 5,389 crore in the year-ago period on the back of higher crude oil prices.

“The increase was mainly because of higher price realisation and lower fuel subsidy payout,” chairman and managing director Sudhir Vasudeva said.

ONGC got $116.94 for every barrel of crude produced against $79.21 per barrel a year ago. After paying fuel subsidy, its net realisation was $83.70 per barrel against $62.75 a barrel last fiscal. The company sells crude to PSU refiners at a discount to compensate them for losses suffered on selling fuel below cost. The subsidy impact on net profit stood at Rs 3,222 crore compared with Rs 1,721 crore a year ago.

Vasudeva said the net profit growth had been reported without including the royalties from Cairn India, which were expected to be accounted for in the next quarter. “A ballpark figure of about Rs 1,900 crore after tax is expected on account of the cost recovery of royalties. This is likely to happen in the next quarter.”

HCL Infosystems

IT hardware maker HCL Infosystems today posted a 74.39 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 12.15 crore for the first quarter ended September against Rs 47.46 crore in the year-ago period.

On a sequential basis, net profit was up 5.83 per cent from Rs 11.48 crore in the June quarter.