Reliance Power reported a loss of Rs 3,558.5 crore in the three months ending March 31, on a standalone basis, mainly on impairments worth more than Rs 4,000 crore recognised by the company on account of its stalled projects. However, the company believes that its operational performance remain sturdy with an EBITDA margin of 50%. K Raja Gopal, CEO, Reliance Power, tells FE’s Anupam Chatterjee why he feels that the worst is past for the company. Excerpts from the interview.
What can Reliance Power’s revenue falling 33% y-o-y to Rs 1,585.7 crore in Q4, FY19 be attributed to?
Less than expected demand in Uttar Pradesh impacted the dispatch levels of the Rosa power unit, despite having high availability (92%). Revenue fell in the quarter largely due to coal supply shortage at our Vidarbha Industries Power (VIPL) plant in Butibori. During Q4-FY19, under-recovery due to coal shortage was about `200 crore. However, with VIPL’s success in the recently concluded SHAKTI auction in May 2019, under-recovery will get fully eliminated. The plant can easily show normative
