Lanco loss widens to Rs 530 cr on receivables, fuel shortage

The company had reported a net loss of Rs 465 crore during the same period a year ago

Gurgaon-based infrastructure major Lanco Infratech Ltd (LITL) has registered net loss of Rs 529.6 crore for the quarter ended December as fuel shortage and huge receivables from customers continued to hurt earnings profitability. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 464 crore in the quarter last year.

“The Group’s operating assets are not generating envisaged revenues on account of short-supply of coal, non-availability of gas, pending tariff clarity and delayed payments from the customers are posing challenges for meeting the cash flow needs,” the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The company has current receivables of Rs 2,765 crore from state power utilities as compared to receivables of Rs 2,939 crore at the end of September quarter. The Group’s subsidiary Lanco Anpara Power Ltd (LAPL), that operates a 1,200 Megawatt power plant in Uttar Pradesh, has been incurring losses as the project is operating at suboptimal levels owing to lack of coal transportation infrastructure.

Total income of the company also declined 32 per cent to Rs 2,515 crore in the quarter ended December as compared to Rs 3,715 crore during the same period last year. Income from power business was down 32 per cent to Rs 1,735 crore. Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) business clocked revenues of Rs 625 crore, down Rs 304 crore, during the third quarter.

Lanco also said its proposal to restructure debt received approval of the Corporate debt Restructuring Empower Group (CDREG) during the quarter. The company had net debt of Rs 36,081 crore on its balance sheet as on December 31. Lanco’s Infratech’s share price at the BSE today closed at Rs 7.16, down 0.1 per cent as compared to previous close.