CESC posts flat net profit in Q3 in face of rising costs and higher electricity purchase

With its revenue increasing, CESC's expenditure also rocketed high by 29% at Rs 1,329 cr

Despite its fuel costs declining with a marginal rise in amortisation and depreciation costs, Kolkata based CESC Ltd, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka group company posted a flat net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015.

On a standalone basis, while its total income from operations rose by 23.14 per cent during the quarter at Rs. 1,523 crore as against the revenue of Rs. 1,249 crore in the October-December period of 2014-15, net profit remained stagnated at Rs 112 crore during the months under review as compared to Rs. 111 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

The company's chairman Sanjiv Goenka said rising costs, inclusive of capital expenditure, wages, power purchases and others have pulled up the company's expenditure.

"Our costs have gone up but there hasn't been any tariff increase. This has impacted the net profit", Goenka said responding to a question from Business Standard.

With its revenue increasing, CESC's expenditure also rocketed high by 28.9 per cent at Rs 1,329 crore when compared to Rs 1,031 crore in the year-ago period.

During the last three months of the previous calendar year, its cost of electricity purchase soared by 167 per cent at Rs. 540 crore as compared to Rs. 202 crore during the October-December period of 2014.

The company last month has sorted out an impending issue with the Standing Linkage Committee over its Chandrapura thermal power plant and is on the look-out to sign a fuel supply agreement with Coal India.

"This clearance will help us to break-even for this plant from a loss-making situation. It should boost our bottomline in the coming days", he said.

With an installed capacity of 600 MW, the Chandrapura plant has power purchase agreements for 300 MW while the rest has been idling.

In January this year, Firstsource - a CESC subsidiary - has also acquired the business process outsourcing division of US-based ISGN - a mortgage company for Rs. 80 crore.

"This acquired company will be merged with Firstsource", Goenka added.