NTPC Q1 net profit down 3% to Rs 2,135 cr, low power demand hurts

New Delhi: State-run NTPC today posted Rs 2,135.35 crore standalone profit, down about 3 percent, for the quarter ended on 30 June, mainly on account of low demand of electricity. Its net profit for the April-June quarter of last fiscal was Rs 2,201.20 crore, the NTPC Ltd said in a statement to Bombay Stock Exchange today.[caption id=“attachment_529522” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  NTPC chairman Arup Roy Choudhury. Image courtesy NTPC[/caption] The profit was down marginally in the first quarter of the current fiscal mainly due to low demand for power, as indicated in its key performance indicators for the period in its BSE filing. During the first quarter of 2015-16, NTPC’s gross power generation was 58.69 billion units of power compared to 63.15 billion units in the year-ago period. The company’s plant load factor (PLF) was 61.8 percent in the quarter ended on 30 June, compared to 67.33 percent in the same quarter of the last financial year. The PFL is a measure of the output of a power plant compared to the maximum output it could produce. The power producer run their plants on low PLF to manage their demand and supply. The low PLF indicates low demand of power. As on 30 June, the company’s total installed power generation capacity was 45,048 MW compared to 43,128 MW on the same date last year. According to the statement the total income of the company has decreased from Rs 18,869.31 crore for the quarter ended 30 June last fiscal, to Rs 17,323.30 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2015-16. The company’s average tariff was Rs 3.26 per unit during the first quarter of this fiscal. NTPC’s share closed at Rs 135.85, up 0.44 percent, on the BSE. PTI