NTPC March Quarter Revenue Lower-Than-Expected But Beats Profit Estimates

NTPC Ltd. posted revenue of ₹439 billion for the March quarter, up just over 3% year on year but below analysts’ forecast of ₹452 billion. Gross power generation rose 2% to 95.23 billion units during the quarter.

The company’s net profit rose 4% to ₹57.78 billion, beating the estimated ₹55.45 billion. Excluding a regulatory deferral account benefit of ₹20.64 billion, profit would have been ₹37.14 billion. Regulatory deferral balances include exchange differences, deferred tax liabilities, and similar items.
NTPC’s total expenses for the quarter grew 6% to ₹397.78 billion, with other expenses rising 27% to ₹58.06 billion and finance costs up 24% to ₹30.97 billion. Tax outgo increased nearly 10% to ₹23.20 billion.

For 2024-25, NTPC reported a net profit of ₹196.49 billion, up from ₹180.79 billion the previous year, on revenue of ₹1.70 trillion, slightly above ₹1.62 trillion in 2023-24. The company declared a final dividend of ₹3.35 per share.

Revenue from power generation—the company’s main segment—was ₹438.77 billion for the quarter, up 4.5% on year, contributing around 96% of total revenue.

NTPC’s operational portfolio stood at 74.79 GW as of March 31, including 59.41 GW operational and 15.37 GW under construction. Consolidated capacity was 113.68 GW, with 79.93 GW operational and 33.75 GW under development.

The company’s operating margin improved to 24.76% in the quarter, from 19.58% a year earlier.

Commercial power generation grew 2% to 95.2 billion units, with energy sent out rising 2.3% to 88.7 billion units. For 2024-25, gross generation was 372.8 billion units, a 3% increase on 2023-24, with energy sent out at 347.3 billion units.

NTPC’s coal plants had a plant load factor (PLF) of 81.24% for the quarter, up from 79.77% a year ago, while the plant availability factor (PAF) rose to 92.52% from 89.42%. Gas unit PAF declined slightly to 93.32%, while hydro remained steady at 90.63%.

Domestic coal supply increased over 10% to 68.08 million tonnes in the quarter. The company did not import any coal during January-March, compared with 3.7 million tonnes a year earlier.