Base effect hits NTPC in March quarter

NTPC, India's largest power generator, on Thursday reported a net profit of Rs 3,093 crore for the quarter ended March, a 29 per cent drop compared with Rs 4,382 crore in the year-ago period. Recovery of dues from Delhi Electric Supply Undertaking (Desu), the erstwhile distributor here, had boosted earnings in the earlier period.

"After excluding one-off items, including recovery of Desu dues in the previous year, the profit has increased 35 per cent," said Arup Roy Choudhury, chairman and managing director.

NTPC had recovered Rs 1,973 crore of dues from Desu, following a dispute between the Centre and the Delhi government over which entity would pay the distributor's dues. With Delhi arguing the Centre should pay, as Desu was under the administrative control of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (then under the central home ministry), the issue remained unresolved for 15 years.

In the quarter, total income rose 18.5 per cent to Rs 21,638 crore from Rs 18,250 crore in the year-ago period.

For 2013-14, profit fell 13 per cent to Rs 10,975 crore, even as total income rose eight per cent to Rs 74,708 crore.

In the March quarter, the plant load factor of coal-based plants rose to 88.7 per cent from 86.8 per cent in the year-ago period.

On the latest controversy over the cancellation of a 2010 mine developer-cum-operator contract related to Sydney-based Leighton Holdings' Thiess Minecs venture for NTPC's Pakri Barwadih mine in Jharkhand, Choudhury said: "Through this, we want to send a strong message to our contractors that bad performance will not be tolerated."

On Monday, Leighton had said NTPC's action violated the contract.