CESC, the R P Goenka controlled power utility, yesterday announced a Rs 66 crore loss for the first quarter of 1998-99. The company said it would skip dividend for 1997-98, having suffered a loss of Rs 121.71 crore for the year.
The company, which paid a dividend of 20 per cent in 1996-97, is off the dividend list for the first time in recent history.
The company's board of directors met here on Friday to finalise accounts for 1997-98 and also to take on record the unaudited results of the first quarter of 1998-99.
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The disappointing financial results, the company explained, reflected the adverse effect of the inadequate tariff revision allowed by the West Bengal government in November 1996. The net increase was as low as two per cent. No revision had been allowed since then, taking a heavy toll on the company's financial health. According to the audited accounts, the 1997-98 loss after tax and contingencies reserve appropriation was Rs 121.71 crore. It had been estimated at a slightly higher Rs 125 crore before audit.
The gross income for the year was Rs 1,515.82 crore against Rs 1,406.85 crore in 1996-87. Expenditure, including depreciation, was Rs 1,630.57 crore against Rs 1,365.49 crore the previous year. The total income includes energy sales worth Rs 1,450 crore and another Rs 66 crore from other income.
The sale of energy for the first time crossed 5,000 million units, registering a five per cent growth. The plant load factor (PLF) of the company's four generating stations was 75 per cent, an improvement from 73 per cent the previous year.
CESC also claimed a marginal fall in the transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in 1997-98. The total number of consumers stood at 15.52 lakh in March 1998. The loss of Rs 66 crore between April and June this year is alarmingly high compared to a loss of Rs 13 crore in the corresponding period last year.
CESC-watchers say unless the tariff rates go up, the loss at the end of the year could well touch Rs 250 crore.
The unaudited results for the first quarter show that net sales have risen by Rs 20 crore to Rs 397 crore and the total income was Rs 411 crore.
However, despite a Rs 13 crore increase in operational cost, interest burden had jumped to Rs 80 crore against Rs 48 crore in the corresponding period last year. Depreciation rose from Rs 20 crore to Rs 47 crore.
Interest and depreciation charges for the quarter under review had also gone up due to the additional impact of the commissioning of the first 250 mw unit at the Budge Budge power plant. The effect of the long delay in getting a tariff revision was further accentuated by the rising accumulation of fuel surcharge causing more borrowings and higher interest charges.