NTPC Q2 net up 30% on higher capacity, low costs

Total income of the company grew 4.7% from Rs 16,386 cr in the second quarter last year

NTPC Ltd, India’s largest power generator, reported a 30 per cent jump in net profit for the September quarter on the back of improved capacity addition and decreased raw material costs, leading to higher generation.

The company posted net profit of Rs 3,142 crore between July and September, as compared to Rs 2,424 crore during the same period last year.

“The high profit growth is attributed to high addition of generation capacity. A 660-Megawatt (Mw) unit at Sipat and a 550-Mw unit of Simhadri unit have been commissioned in the second quarter,” a senior official from the company said. “In the first half of the current fiscal, NTPC has declared 2,820 Mw capacity under commercial operation. This is the highest-ever in a period of six months,” he added.

Total income of the company grew 4.7 per cent from Rs 16,386 crore in the second quarter last year to Rs 17,167 crore during the same period this year.

For the half year ended September, the company’s profit after tax grew 25 per cent to Rs 5,641 crore as against Rs 4,499 crore during the first half last fiscal. Total income of the company also grew eight per cent to Rs 34,012 crore between April and September this year.

Experts hailed the company’s performance. “NTPC’s brilliant numbers including the high profit growth is largely attributable to the 15 per cent decline in raw material cost quarter-on-quarter. Coal India’s supply to the company has shown improvement, allowing NTPC to absorb coal cost favorably. If this trend continues in the next quarter, share price will definitely react positively,” said Kishor P Ostwal, chairman of Mumbai-based research house CNI Research, said.

NTPC has a current installed power generation capacity of 39,100 Mw. The company has a target of adding another 25,000-Mw capacity over the five-year period ending March 2017, by spending Rs 155,000 crore, including expenditure towards developing coal mines.