State gas utility GAIL India Monday reported a 20 per cent rise in its March quarter net profit as margins on natural gas sales and transmission more than made up for the loss in the petrochemical business. Net profit in January-March at Rs 1,222.23 crore, or Rs 4.98 per share, was 19.70 per cent higher than Rs 1,020.92 crore, or Rs 4.53 a share, net profit in the same period of the previous fiscal year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

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Revenue rose to Rs 18,763.87 crore in the fourth quarter of 2018-19 fiscal year when compared with Rs 15,430.69 crore net profit in the year-ago period.

The board of GAIL also approved a 1:1 bonus - issue of one free share for every share held. GAIL had a segment loss of Rs 20 crore in its petrochemical business. Also, pre-tax profit on LPG and liquid hydrocarbons business halved to Rs 416.15 crore.

This, however, was made good by higher margins on gas transmission and natural gas sales businesses. Pre-tax profit on gas transmission business rose 8.3 per cent to Rs 777.92 crore while that on natural gas marketing tripled to Rs 587.53 crore.