Net profit of ₹1,487.33 crore, or ₹3.30 a share, in October-December, was 19% more than ₹1,250.65 crore, or ₹2.77 per share, in the same period a year back
NEW DELHI : State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd on Wednesday reported 19% rise in December quarter net profit after an uptick in petrochemical margin more than neutralised losses on gas marketing.
Net profit of ₹1,487.33 crore, or ₹3.30 a share, in October-December, was 19% more than ₹1,250.65 crore, or ₹2.77 per share, in the same period a year back, the company said in a statement.
The firm's petrochemical business swung into black with a pre-tax profit of ₹434.08 crore in the third quarter of the current fiscal year as against a loss of ₹8.51 crore in the same period of the previous year.
Natural gas marketing however went into red with a loss of ₹73.70 crore as against a pre-tax profit of ₹466.52 crore.
Gas transportation, the mainstay business of the company, was almost flat and so was its LPG and liquid hydrocarbons business.
GAIL recorded a 13% increase in turnover at ₹15,386 crore.
"Both physical, as well as the financial performance of the company, improved further across all major segments in Q3 as compared to Q2 FY21," the statement said.
Natural gas transmission improved 4% quarter-on-quarter, 8% in gas marketing, 3% in LPG transmission, 3% in petrochemical sales, and 8% in liquid hydrocarbon sales.
"GAIL's petrochemical performance improved further in Q3, and the plant is operating at more than 100% capacity," the statement said.
Petrochem profitability was more than double of ₹170 crore in Q2 (July-September) 2020-21 fiscal.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2020, GAIL recorded a turnover of ₹41,057 crore as against ₹54,021 crore.
Net profit was lower at ₹2,983 crore when compared to ₹3,602 crore during April-December 2019-20.
GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Manoj Jain said 450-kilometer Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline and 348-km Dobhi-Durgapur were commissioned this year.
"The commissioning of pipelines will not only increase customers but also lead to growth in gas marketing and transmission," he said. "GAIL is trying to accelerate the progress in its ongoing projects."
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