ONGC Q2 Net Jumps 60%, Beats F'cast

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><root available-locales="en_US," default-locale="en_US"><static-content language-id="en_US"><![CDATA[<p>State-run explorer Oil &amp; Natural Gas Corp beat street estimates with a 60 per cent jump in quarterly profit, bolstered by lower subsidy payments and gains from high crude oil and gas prices.<br><br>ONGC said net profit for its fiscal second quarter ended September rose to 86.42 billion rupees ($1.76 billion), compared with 53.89 billion rupees a&nbsp; year earlier.<br><br>A Reuters poll of 11 brokerages had on average expected net profit of 65.1 billion rupees for the quarter.<br><br>Net sales rose to 226.2 billion rupees from 181.9 billion a year earlier. <br><br>ONGC is required to partially subsidise crude oil sales to state-run refiners, which in turn sell fuel products at state-set, below-market prices.<br><br>Shares in ONGC, valued at $48.4 billion, closed 0.4 percent lower at 276.80 rupees ahead of the announcement. The stock has declined 14 percent so far in 2011, matching a similar fall in the main stock index.<br><br>(Reuters)</p>