India’s largest power utility, Tata Power, has reported a less than expected net profit after tax and other statutory appropriations of Rs 141.9 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009. However, the net profit is 40.4 per cent higher than the net profit of Rs 101.1 crore in the quarter ended December 2008.
Tata Power executive director S Ramakrishnan said the increase in net profit was mainly due to additional power generation capacities of over 250 Mw, compared with the same quarter last year. Hydropower generation during the period was also higher by 21 MUs and wind power by 32 MUs.
Net sales declined by 16.7 per cent to Rs 1,449.80 crore in the third quarter from Rs 1,741.5 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier. The fall in revenue is mainly due to a change in the fuel mix and reduction in fuel prices in the Mumbai Licence Area, as compared to the corresponding quarter last year. During the quarter, electricity sales were marginally up at 3,714 million units (MU) as compared to 3,711 MU in the corresponding period last year.
Analysts were expecting Tata Power to post a net profit in excess of Rs180-190 crore for the quarter. Its share prices went down by 1.4 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange today, to close at Rs 141.9.
During the quarter, the company’s customer base grew to 35,576 and total customer additions stood at 7,124. It got 14,700 applications for changeover from customers, of which 6,257 have moved. Total new customer addition for the year was 9,511, said Tata Power.