CESC Q2 PAT rises 19 per cent to Rs 136 cr

Power utility CESC Ltd today posted 19 per cent rise in profit after tax to Rs 136 crore in the July-September quarter on the back of "better efficiency and cost management".

The company had posted a (profit after tax) of Rs 114 crore in the same period last fiscal.

"Better efficiency and cost management has helped us have a good year. It is a combination of a number of factors... Coal price has gone up, but if you buy at a better load you gain. Fuel cost per unit generated during the quarter could be contained at the same level due to efficient coal management," CESC Chairman Sanjeev Goenka told reporters here.

The company said units of power sold during the quarter was higher by around 2 per cent compared to last quarter and it has witnessed a downward trend in distribution loss.

"I am happy with the way our distribution is going. We can not say we are completely there, we still have a distance to travel," he said.

The company's total income during the period, stood at Rs 1,344 crore against Rs 1,174 crore in the same period of 2011-12.

On the progress of its various proposed power project plants, Goenka said the first phase of 600 MW (2x300 MW) Haldia thermal power project was "very much on track. In fact, we are very much ahead of schedule, which is March 14."

He said the company has already tied up coal linkage for its Balagarh power project and is awaiting the delivery.

He added the 600 MW project in Maharashtra was at an advanced stage and its first unit is expected to commission by the first quarter of the next fiscal.

During the half-year ended September 2012, CESC Ltd's net profit stood at Rs 261 crore against Rs 225 crore in the year-ago period.

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