'PTC comfortable on liquidity front'

T N Thakur, CMD, says volumes have increased and Power Trading Corporation is on the right growth path. Excerpts::

How would you describe the quarter gone by? What’s the outlook over the next nine months?
This Q1FY10, our volumes have gone up by almost 60 per cent, compared to Q1 last year. Similarly, income and profits have also gone up. We will not have to depend on day-to-day seasonal markets because we have tied up on a long-term basis and something on a medium-term basis. A substantial number of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have been closed in Q1 and some power source agreements are nearly frozen.

 

We are participating in bids invited by some utilities. That will also give a greater stability. We have already started making investment in power purchase and are into lending to some extent. We have already tied up with banks. We have been in operation only for 18 months, yet we are on the correct growth path. We are into holistic services for private investors, but we are not limiting ourselves to private investors. 

Are your rising volumes sustainable?
We have been participating on exchanges, some more projects will be commissioned this year, some captive power plants with surpluses have come to us.

How comfortable are you on liquidity? Also, can you talk about the recent QIP?
We have had no defaults from anywhere. We are quite well positioned, in the sense that we are keeping a substantial amount of liquid money for our working capital requirements. The QIP of Rs 500 crore that we raised in 2009 will largely be for liquidity participation in power projects.