GAIL's Q2 net profit at Rs 1,310 cr jumps 42%

New Delhi, Nov 14 : State-run gas transmission utility GAIL India (GAIL) on Tuesday posted a 41.6 per cent rise in net profit for the second quarter ending September at Rs 1,309.63 crore, boosted by handsome earnings from its gas transportation and marketing business.

GAIL's net profit for the same quarter last year was Rs 924.65 crore, the company said in a statement here.

It earned a pre-tax profit of Rs 853.48 crore from gas transmission business during the second quarter, as compared with Rs 660.74 crore in the same quarter last year.

The gas utility marketed 5 per cent more gas by volume during the quarter in consideration, the statement said.

Earnings from natural gas marketing in the quarter under review rose 27 per cent to Rs 419.74 crore. Instead, revenue from the petrochemical business fell nearly 50 per cent to Rs 88.81 crore.

GAIL said all the business segments registered positive physical growth both sequentially and as compared with the corresponding quarter last year.

"The increase in net profit in Q2 FY 2017-18 on year-on- year basis, was supported by increase in natural gas transmission and marketing volumes by 5 per cent each, LPG transmission by 11 per cent, petrochemicals sales by 29 per cent and liquid hydrocarbon sales by 17 per cent," it said.

Revenue dropped marginally by around 1per cent to Rs12,409.65 crore.

For the first half of the fiscal, GAIL registerd a net profit of Rs 2,335 crore, which was 32 per cent higher than in the same period a year ago.

The GAIL stock closed on Tuesday at Rs 456.45 a share, up Rs 1.20, or by 0.26 per cent over its previous close on the BSE.