Tata Power has posted a net loss of Rs 329 crore due to provisioning of an additional impairment of Rs 600 crore for the Mundra Project and lower realisation from its Indonesian mines, following a fall in coal prices.
It had posted a net profit of Rs 298 crore in the same quarter last year.
Tata Power said the Rs 600-crore provisioning was done after reviewing the recoverability of carrying cost from its future earnings.
With this impairment, the equity of Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (its 100 per cent subsidiary developing the Mundra project) has eroded substantially and the company eagerly awaits the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s decision on the power purchase agreement tariff revision for Mundra to address its long-term sustainability.
Coastal Gujarat, the special purpose vehicle formed for setting up the 4,000-MW Mundra project, posted revenues of Rs 799 crore and a loss of Rs 830 crore.
Last year’s PAT had a deferred stripping cost of Rs 577 crore and a reversal of Rs 310 crore of forex losses due to adoption of Accounting Standards (AS) -11.
On a consolidated basis, Tata Power’s revenues increased 36 per cent to Rs 9,039 crore primarily on account of additional revenue generated from the Mundra, Maithon projects and higher fuel cost of its Mumbai operation and power purchase cost of Tata Power Delhi Distribution.
Anil Sardana, Managing Director, said: “The company has reported robust growth in revenues and has crossed the Rs 9,000- crore mark this quarter. Our generation capacity touched 7,700 MW with the commissioning of Unit 4 of 4,000 MW Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project.
“It is hoped that a decision in respect of fuel prices is taken early and the constant impact on Tata Power’s networth is salvaged.
“Price realisations from the Indonesian coal companies are lower due to falling coal prices in the current quarter, however, coal prices have stabilised in recent weeks.”