Torrent Power surges 9%, hits 52-week high after June quarter result

Shares of Torrent Power rallied 9 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 357.50 on the BSE on Friday after the company posted a 35.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 372.66 crore against Rs 275.27 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenue from operations, however, stood at Rs 3,007.05 crore, down 19.5 per cent against Rs 3,736.13 crore in the June 2019 quarter. "Revenue from operations for the current quarter included Rs 250.62 crore on account of a favourable order received from the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity in respect of disputed revenue gap related to carrying costs of earlier years," the company said in its press release.

Total income during the quarter declined 19.7 per cent to Rs 3,041.72 crore.

Torrent Power's basic earnings per share (EPS) stood at Rs 7.75 against Rs 5.73 in the year-ago quarter.

As regards the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the company said it has caused a reduction in electricity demand compared to the corresponding period of the previous financial year, mainly in commercial and industrial customer categories. The Group also faced delays in recovery of customer bills due to ad- hoc extension in due dates and the impaired ability of certain customers to pay bills in time, it said.

"Our strong balance sheet, robust business model, and talented pool of employees allowed us to tide over the unprecedented and difficult situation without any operational disruption and with manageable financial impact. With the easing of lockdown restrictions, we are already witnessing a gradual and steady recovery in demand and cashflows in our geographical areas and are looking forward to new growth opportunities arising from Government's strong desire to reform the power sector," said Samir Mehta, chairman of the company.