New Delhi: India’s state-owned energy major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported a strong 23 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit for the third quarter of FY26, supported by margin expansion and improved contributions from subsidiaries, even as its standalone upstream business faced pressure from lower crude oil realizations.
Consolidated net profit for Q3 FY26 rose to ₹11,946 crore, compared with ₹9,747 crore in the same quarter last year. Gross revenue remained largely unchanged at ₹1.67 lakh crore, reflecting flat top-line growth but improved profitability at the group level.
The company’s board declared a second interim dividend of 125 percent (₹6.25 per share), taking the cumulative interim dividend for FY26 to 245 percent, amounting to ₹15,411 crore so far this fiscal year.
Strong Consolidated Performance Despite Flat Revenue
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, consolidated net profit rose 22.99 percent to ₹36,115 crore, even as gross revenue declined 1.43 percent year-on-year to ₹4.88 lakh crore. Net profit attributable to owners increased 16.67 percent year-on-year in Q3 to ₹10,016 crore, underlining improved cost efficiencies and stronger subsidiary performance.
The divergence between modest revenue growth and robust profit expansion highlights ONGC’s growing reliance on integration and operational efficiencies to support earnings.
Standalone Business Impacted by Crude Price Weakness
ONGC’s standalone upstream operations remained under pressure due to declining crude oil prices. Q3 standalone gross revenue fell 6.4 percent year-on-year to ₹31,546 crore, while net profit rose marginally by 1.6 percent to ₹8,372 crore.
For the nine-month period, standalone revenue declined 6.1 percent to ₹96,579 crore, while net profit dropped 10 percent to ₹26,244 crore. The decline was largely driven by weaker crude oil realizations.
Average nominated crude oil realization stood at $61.63 per barrel in Q3 FY26, down 15.08 percent from a year earlier. For the nine months, realizations fell 16.65 percent to $65 per barrel. In rupee terms, realizations declined over 10 percent in Q3 and more than 13 percent over nine months, limiting earnings despite stable production volumes.
Production Stable, Gas Portfolio Offers Partial Cushion
Crude oil production during the nine months rose marginally to 13.907 million metric tonnes, while natural gas output remained broadly flat. Gas pricing showed modest improvement, with nomination gas prices averaging $6.59 per mmbtu in Q3.
Revenue from New Well Gas totaled ₹5,028 crore during the nine-month period, providing an additional ₹944 crore over administered pricing and contributing over 18 percent of total gas sales revenue. While this diversification offers some insulation from crude price volatility, oil continues to dominate ONGC’s earnings profile.
Key Takeaways
ONGC’s Q3 results underscore three clear trends: rising consolidated profitability despite stagnant revenue, continued sensitivity of standalone earnings to crude oil prices, and increasing dependence on portfolio diversification rather than production growth alone. For investors, crude oil realization remains the most critical driver of earnings, with pricing dynamics outweighing volume stability.