 "Adani group takes a gamble on growth")
Adani Power on Friday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 325.27 crore in the quarter ended December 31, mainly on account of lower plant load factor and higher financial costs.
The group had posted a net profit of Rs 103.87 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a BSE filing.
According to the statement, the company's total income in quarter under review was Rs 5,872.57 crore as against Rs 6,210.76 crore a year ago.
The company said, "The consolidated total income for the quarter reduced marginally to Rs 5,873 crore as compared to Rs 6,211 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous year largely on account of lower PLF."
However, it said, the overall plant availability during the quarter was 94 per cent as against 93 per cent during three month period previous financial year and it sold 14.9 billion units in said quarter as against 16.6 billion units a year ago.
The company further said, "EBIDTA (Earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) during the quarter has reduced by 15.9 per cent from Rs 2,030 crore in Q3 FY16 to Rs 1,708 crore in Q3 FY17, mainly due to lower merchant tariff and prior quarter income recognised in Q3 FY16."
Elaborating further, the firm stated the finance costs have increased from Rs 1,318 crore in third quarter of last fiscal to Rs 1,430 crore in third quarter of the ongoing financial year on account of higher working capital utilisation and impact of mark to market on foreign currency derivatives.
According to the statement, due to lower EBIDTA and higher finance costs, consolidated net result in third quarter reported a loss of Rs 325 crore as compared to net profit of Rs 104 crore year ago.
Adani Power Chairman Gautam Adani said, "Adani Power is firmly positioned to achieve its future growth plans and contribute significantly to nation building by providing electricity at competitive rates."
Adani Power CEO Vneet Jaain, said, "We are navigating a challenging environment which is marked by non-availability of domestic fuel linkages, regulatory complexity and lower power demand. These challenges are temporary deterrents which shall be resolved with intervention of key stakeholders and the company is hopeful of achieving its long-term vision."
Pursuant to the acquisition of 100 per cent stake of UPCL (Udupi Power Corporation Ltd) by the company on April 20, 2015, the figures for the nine months ended December 31, 2016 are not fully comparable with the figures of corresponding nine months of the previous year, the company said.
