ONGC reports first-ever loss at Rs 3,098 crore in Q4 on impairment

NEW DELHI: India’s largest oil and gas producer ONGC on Tuesday reported its first-ever quarterly loss at Rs 3,098 crore in the January-March period, against a profit of Rs 4,240 crore in the previous corresponding quarter, after the state-run company booked impairment cost on account of the crash in oil and gas prices.
The loss would have been even bigger had it not been for a Rs 1,641.5-crore deferred tax reversal during the quarter.
Company chairman Shashi Shanker said ONGC would have posted a profit if it had not booked the impairment cost of Rs 4,899 crore. The impairment was booked after considering possible effects of COVID-19 on the extent to which the company’s cash-generating units and oil prices can recover.
The impairment also halved the net profit for 2019-20 to Rs 13,445 crore from Rs 26,765 crore in the previous financial year.