NTPC Q1 net up 20% as power generation picks up

State-owned and the country’s largest power producer, NTPC Ltd, has registered a 20 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended June this year on the back of higher power generation. The company posted a net profit of Rs 2,498.6 crore for the April-June period, compared to Rs 2,075.7 crore recorded during the corresponding period last year.

Total income of NTPC also increased 11 per cent to Rs 16,844.8 crore during the quarter, as compared to Rs 15,167.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. NTPC’s power generation grew 7.8 per cent from 55 billion units (BUs) in the first quarter last financial year (2011-12) to 58 BUs in the first quarter of this year, the company said in a statement. The improvement in generation was made possible by higher fuel supply at 98 per cent of annual contracted quantity by state-owned miner Coal India Ltd (CIL). The easing of coal supply pushed the plant load factor of the company’s plants to 86 per cent during the quarter.

Market experts said the results were on expected lines. “In fact, we expect NTPC to increase profits by more than 27 per cent in the current quarter as there are signs of the coal supply issue from CIL getting resolved,” said Kishore P Ostwal, chairman and managing director of Mumbai-based brokerage CNI Research. He, however, added the stock was likely to remain subdued for some time.

NTPC added 2,160 Megawatt (Mw) of fresh power generation capacity during the quarter. This was around 52 per cent of the targeted 4,160 Mw for the entire year (2012-13). The power generator’s capital expenditure during the quarter stood at Rs 3,978 crore, higher than the Rs 3,967 crore originally targeted.

The June quarter’s spending was 83 per cent over the expenditure of the corresponding quarter last year.

The company’s share price at the BSE on Friday closed at Rs 153.0, up 0.9 per cent as compared to previous close.