Tata Power Q2 net dips marginally on fuel cost

Tata Power Company, the country's largest private power utility, has reported a 2 per cent dip in its net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2008, as the higher cost of crude oil has eroded its profitability.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 252.93 crore for the September quarter as against Rs 257.43 crore in the same period a year ago. However, total income rose 45 per cent to touch Rs 1,959 crore in July-September 2008, up from Rs 1,351 crore reported in the year-ago quarter.

However, sales in terms of million units (MUs), has fallen by 11.4 per cent during the quarter under review at 3,377 MUs. Thus, the increase in turnover has come from higher unit charge for the electricity supplied. A company spokesperson could not be reached for comments.

In a press statement, Tata Power said that accounting numbers were not comparable as the company was making 'regulatory adjustments' on a quarterly basis instead of providing it in the last quarter.

This quarter, the company had provided Rs 9 crore towards "statutory appropriations". If this is not deducted, the net profit for the quarter would have increased marginally by 1.45 per cent.

Total expenditure for the September quarter rose 53 per cent to Rs 1,771 crore as against Rs 1,160 crore in the year-ago period.

Fuel cost, which constitute more than three-fourths of the total expenditure, increased by a whopping 76 per cent to Rs 1,374 crore in the three months up to September 2008.

The company, which is executing the 4,000 mw Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), said the first unit would be commissioned by September 2011.

It had acquired 30 per cent stake in two Indonesian coal mines to provide fuel linkage for this UMPP.