The Hindu Business Line : Tata Power Q4 net slumps, sales up

TATA Power Company Ltd has reported a 185.6 per cent drop in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2004, at Rs 54.35 crore compared with Rs 155.27 crore last year.

Revenue from power sales and income from other operations was, however, up 54 per cent to Rs 1,402.08 crore (Rs 909.69 crore).

According to the company, profits were lower as Tata Power had to adjust foreign exchange liabilities worth Rs 72.11 crore charged to the profit-and-loss account after it prepaid World Bank loans, worth roughly Rs 250 crore, in the fourth quarter.

The company also had higher tax payments, worth Rs 52 crore, during this financial year as it did not have to provide for certain tax benefits, a senior company official said.

For the year, Tata Power reported marginally lower net profit at Rs 509.08 crore (Rs 519.92 crore) while total revenues also fell to Rs 4,239.08 crore (Rs 4,299.75 crore).

Total expenditure and interest payments for the quarter were higher at Rs 832.69 crore (Rs 655.15 crore) and Rs 87.09 crore (Rs 73.95 crore), respectively.

Tax provision was lower at Rs 36.34 crore (Rs 54.05 crore) while depreciation amounted to Rs 84.41 crore (Rs 74.45 crore).

Earnings per share for the year fell marginally to Rs 25.77 (Rs 26.27) while figures for the quarter fell to Rs 2.75 (Rs 7.85).

Although the company sold 21 per cent higher power volumes in its Mumbai licence area and 11 per cent outside it, overall sales to the Maharashtra State Electricity Board and Reliance Energy during the year fell by 40 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively, Mr Firdose Vandrevala, Managing Director, Tata Power, told reporters on Friday.

Also, lowered customer tariff to customers led to lower revenues, Mr Vandrevala said.

The company also took a Rs15-crore hit because of higher fuel prices.

The loss would have been much higher had the company not changed its fuel mix, which accrued Rs 166-crore benefits, entirely passed on to customers, he said.

The company's fuel adjustment costs also fell by 22 paise per unit. Tata Power has entered long-term coal purchase contracts as a safeguard from rising worldwide coal prices.

The company's 120-MW Jojobera generation project is on schedule and will be commissioned by October 2005 while its Tata transmission project, in joint venture with Power Grid Corporation, will be completed by June 2006, Mr Vandrevala said.

The company has invested Rs 288 crore in its New Delhi Power Distribution Ltd over the last fiscal against the targeted Rs 287 crore, he said.