Return
to Story Page
To print: Select File and then Print from your
browser's menu
Sunil Mukhopadhyay
Calcutta, Aug 10: RP Goenka flagship CESC Ltd, which suffered a loss of Rs 128.08 crore in 1998-99, on Tuesday reported a net profit of Rs 2 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal against a net loss of Rs 66 crore reported in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
According to unaudited results for the quarter to June 30, 1999, other income of Rs 21 crore has helped the company to make a turnaround. However, other income of Rs 76 crore could not save the company from incurring a loss of Rs 128 crore in 1998-99.
The board, which met here on Tuesday, has expressed its inability to recommend any dividend for 1998-99. CESC had skipped dividend in 1997-98 fiscal too. In 1996-97, the company had offered a dividend of 13.5 per cent.
Total income during the first quarter amounted to Rs 457 crore, an increase of 11.19 per cent from previous year's first quarter toal income of Rs 411 crore.
Company sources said that the major reasons for the turnaround were the full effect of tariff revision effective from October 19, 1998, containment of operating expenses and successful operation of the first 250mw unit of Budge Budge thermal power station which achieved a plant load factor of 77 per cent during the first quarter.
CESC's own generation increased to 1423 million unit (mu) against 1193 mu in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
Total expenditure in the first quarter was Rs 331 crore (Rs 350 crore in firt quarter of previous year), a decline of 5.43 per cent. Interest charges at Rs 75 crore is 6.25 per cent less than the comparable figure for the last year.
Though sales showed a modest increase in 1998-99 from 5019mu to 5071mu, high tension industrial sales, the principal remunerative segment, declined by 10.2 per cent. This reflected recessionary trends in industries, particularly steelworks, rolling mills, jute and chemicals. High tension sales to other categories, however, were up by 3.8 per cent. In the domestic sector, low tension consumption recorded a growth of 8.5 per cent.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
------------------------------------------------------------
This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
------------------------------------------------------------