Dabhol impairment pulls NTPC’s profit down 25%

India’s largest power generation company, NTPC, has reported a 25.5 per cent decline in net profit to ~2,079 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2017, with the utility attributing the slump to “impairment of investment in the Ratnagiri Power plant, known as Dabhol project”. In a statement issued to the BSE, the firm said the impairment loss was of ~783 crore in Ratnagiri Gas And Power Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of the company.

The company’s standalone net profit in 2016-17 was down to ~9,385.3 crore from ~10,770 crore in the previous financial year.

NTPC’s installed capacity crossed 50,498 megawatts (Mw) during the last financial year, thereby joining the list of global majors in power production. Its standalone revenue was up at 20,887 crore during the Q4 FY17, compared to ~18,732.4 crore in the year-ago period. The total revenue for FY17 was ~79,342.3 crore, up from ~72,009.2 crore in FY16.

On the operational front, the company was way ahead of peers. Gross power generation of the company was up at 250.3 billion units (BUs) in 2016-17, compared to 241.97 (BUs) a year ago. Plant load factor (PLF) or capacity utilisation for coal-based power plants was 78.6 per cent in 2016-17, compared to national PLF of 59.9 per cent.

The firm said the average tariff during 2016-17 was ~3.30 per unit. “The company’s dependence on imported coal has reduced, as it used 1.03 million tonnes (mt) in 2016-17, compared to 9.48 mt in the previous year. Similarly imported coal used by company came down to 0.08 mt in the fourth quarter from 1.13 mt year ago,” it said.

The board of directors also recommended a final dividend of ~2.61 per equity share for 2016-17, subject to approval of shareholders.