The Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) posted a profit of Rs 75.7 billion (EPS Rs17.6) in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2013 (9MFY13), which shows a growth of 9 percent from Rs 69.2 billion (EPS Rs16.1) compared to the same period last year. “The profit fell well short of market consensus,” said Nauman Khan of Topline Research. The corporate result is also accompanied by an interim cash dividend of Rs1.7 per share, while the company has already announced a cash dividend of Rs 3.75 per share, the analyst said. “The growth in earnings primarily stems from 19 percent improvement in the company’s topline to Rs 169 billion while healthy increase of 58 percent in other income to Rs 10.7 billion also supported the bottomline,” he viewed. Khan said higher oil and gas production was the major propeller of the topline, while 8 percent average rupee depreciation also affected it. However, the rise was partially diluted by 3-folds increase in exploration cost to Rs 8.9 billion in 9MFY13. In 3QFY13, the company posted an earning of Rs 6.15 per share which is up 12 percent from preceding quarter but is down 4 percent from Rs 6.43 in the same quarter last year. Compared to 3QFY12, the company’s topline rose by 10 percent but a 4 times increase in exploration cost proved to be a drag on the company’s bottomline.
