Essar Energy Plc’s loss after tax widened to $392 million (around Rs 2,450 crore) in the half year ended September 30 against $201 million in the year-ago period. The company is the London-listed arm of Essar Group. It suffered a foreign exchange impact of $483 million due to the falling rupee.
Essar Energy reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation of $543 million in the half-year period (FY-14) against $582 million in the comparable period last year. The revenue for the six months was $13.4 billion, up five per cent, against $12.8 billion clocked last year.
At the current price, the refining margins rose 9 per cent to $6.97 per barrel at the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, which underwent an expansion last year. The rise was due to operational improvements at the refinery, the company said in a statement. It added that work is also on at the refinery to boost margins by an additional $1.50 a barrel over the next three years.