State-owned Oil India Ltd (OIL) reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit in the third quarter ended December 31 on the back of a rise in oil and natural gas prices.

Net profit of Rs 1,746.10 crore, or Rs 16.10 per share, in October-December rose 40 per cent compared with Rs 1,244.90 crore, or Rs 11.48 a share, in the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement.

The rise in profitability was helped by a higher realisation on crude oil and gas the PSU produces and sells. Also, output increased, helping both the top line and bottom line.

OIL earned $88.33 for every barrel of crude oil it produced and sold in the third quarter of the current fiscal, up from $78.59 a barrel realisation in the year-ago period. Crude oil is refined at refineries to produce fuels — petrol and diesel.

The board of OIL has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 10 per share (face value of Rs 10).

This is in addition to the first interim dividend of Rs 4.50 per share declared earlier by the PSU.

Nayara Energy

Nayara Energy, India’s second-largest private oil refining and fuel marketing company, saw its net profit rise by a marginal 2 per cent in the third quarter ended December 31 as the company undertook a month-long maintenance shutdown and windfall tax-impacted margins.

Net profit of Rs 869.8 crore in October-December compared with Rs 850.3 crore profit in the same period a year ago, according to a stock exchange filing made by the company.

Revenue from operations dropped to Rs 24,757.7 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal from Rs 32,412.9 crore a year ago.

This was mainly because the company fully shut its 400,000 barrels per day or 20 million tonnes per annum Vadinar refinery in Gujarat for about a month in November for routine maintenance activities.