(Reuters) – Top Indian power producer NTPC reported a decline in its second-quarter adjusted profit on Thursday, hurt by lower electricity generation in its core thermal energy segment.
The company’s consolidated profit before tax and other items fell 29.4% to 43.21 billion rupees (about $514 million) for the three months to Sept. 30.
India’s electricity demand for the July-September period was down as above-normal rainfall resulted in lower temperatures. Consumption grew a mere 1.1% from a year ago, compared with 9.7% for the first-half of the year.
This helped reduce the country’s dependence on coal, which India is still heavily reliant on to meet its energy requirements.
Generation from thermal power, which is derived from burning fuels such as coal, declined 1.2% in the September quarter from a year ago, while renewable energy generation rose 7%, Elara Capital had said in a note.
NTPC’s gross power generation fell 2% to 88.46 billion units during the second quarter.
Its thermal power segment’s plant load factor, which is a percentage of energy utilised by the power plant corresponding to installed capacity, fell to 72.3% from 75.8% in the July-September period.
The company added 2,619 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity in fiscal year 2025, taking its total installed capacity to 76,443 MW, with major focus on expanding its renewable energy capacity.
NTPC’s quarterly revenue from operations fell nearly 1% to 446.96 billion rupees.
Peers Adani Power and Torrent Power are yet to report their second-quarter results.
($1 = 84.0490 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
