ONGC Shares Drop After Q4 Earnings Miss Street Expectations

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) fell as much as 4% on May 27 after the company posted marginal growth in revenue and profit for the March quarter, while reporting higher exploration-related write-offs and lower production volumes.

The stock was trading around 2.6% lower at ₹280 apiece during the session after the quarterly results announcement.

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ONGC reported a consolidated net profit of ₹6,649.97 crore for the January-March quarter of FY26, up 3% from ₹6,448.28 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter last year, according to the company’s stock exchange filing. However, profit declined sequentially from ₹8,371.85 crore reported in the December quarter.

Revenue from operations rose marginally to ₹35,928.18 crore in the fourth quarter from ₹34,982.23 crore a year earlier.

Exploration Write-Offs Rise During Quarter

The company’s quarterly performance was impacted by higher exploration expenses after several wells failed to produce commercially viable hydrocarbon discoveries.

ONGC wrote off ₹4,876.75 crore towards exploratory well costs during the March quarter, higher than the ₹4,173.04 crore write-off reported in the same period last year.

For the full FY26 financial year, exploratory well write-offs increased to ₹8,235.98 crore compared with ₹7,479.96 crore in FY25.

Brokerage firm Jefferies noted that elevated operational expenses and dry well write-offs contributed to a softer quarterly performance.

Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services maintained a “neutral” rating on the stock and highlighted disappointing production volume growth during the quarter.

Full-Year Profit Declines

For the entire FY26 fiscal year, ONGC reported a net profit of ₹32,894.02 crore, down 7.6% from ₹35,610.32 crore recorded in FY25.

The company said higher crude oil and gas realisations during the quarter helped offset the impact of lower production.

ONGC’s crude oil realisation during the quarter stood at $78.3 per barrel compared with $63 per barrel in the previous year period, according to its earnings presentation. However, total production declined to 9.83 million metric tonnes from 10.21 million metric tonnes a year ago.

Board Recommends Final Dividend

The company’s board recommended a final dividend of Re 1 per equity share for FY26.

ONGC remains one of India’s largest state-owned oil and gas producers and plays a key role in the country’s domestic energy output. The company’s performance continues to remain sensitive to global crude oil prices, production trends and exploration outcomes.

The latest earnings announcement comes at a time when energy markets remain volatile due to geopolitical tensions in West Asia and concerns over crude oil supply disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz.