KARACHI: The Oil and Gas Development Company Ltd`s (OGDCL) after-tax profit dropped 12 per cent to Rs30 billion during the half-year ending Dec 31, translating into earnings per share of Rs6.98.

The company`s directors also announced an interim cash dividend of Re1 per share. During the July-December period, net sales fell 6pc year-onyear to Rs81.1bn. The disproportionate decline in earnings over the fall in sales was mainly linked by analysts to a 74pc increase in exploration costs to Rs8.2bn from Rs4.7bn a year earlier.