Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 55.77 points, or 0.30%, to 18,372.84. On BSE, 6.89 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 3.69 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 303.90 and a low of Rs 293.75 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 226.95 on 15 July 2011. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 325.50 on 29 April 2011. Shares of ONGC have risen 7.48% in the preceding five sessions from a recent low of Rs 276 on 14 February 2012. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month until 21 February 2012, rising 6.07% compared with the Sensex's 10.09% rise. The scrip had, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, rising 15.64% as against 15.57% rise in the Sensex. India's largest state-run oil exploration company has an equity capital of Rs 4277.74 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5. According to reports, the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is likely to finalise timeline for auctioning of 5% of its stake in ONGC to institutional investors on 24 February 2012. The EGoM is likely to decide on the timing of the issue as well as the base or reserve price for the auction, reports added. Earlier this month, a government panel approved a plan to sell some of the government's shareholding in ONGC through a share auction but did not provide a timeframe. As on 31 December 2011, the government held 74.14% stake in ONGC and it reportedly plans to sell 42.77 crore shares, which would reduce its holding in the company to 69.14%. Earlier this week, some media reports suggested that officials from sovereign wealth funds of the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait recently met Indian government officials and agreed to buy shares in ONGC's forthcoming share sale. Other foreign funds are also discussing the possible purchase of shares in ONGC, reports added. ONGC's net profit fell 4.82% to Rs 6741.41 crore on 2.5% decline in net sales to Rs 18123.84 crore in Q3 December 2011 over Q3 December 2010. ONGC attributed the weak performance to a surge in under recovery discount. ONGC said its under-recovery shot up by 197% to Rs 12536 crore in Q3 December 2011 over Q3 December 2010. The company had an exceptional item of Rs 3,142 crore relating to royalty receipts. This was received from Cairn India towards royalty on the Rajasthan fields' output for the August 2009-September 2011 period. ONGC's net realization fell 30.62% to $44.96 per barrel in Q3 December 2011 from as high as $64.79 in Q3 December 2010. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |