India's CESC posts rise in Q4 profit as demand for electricity grows

CESC

22/05/2023 10:45

BENGALURU, May 22 (Reuters) - Indian power generation and distribution company CESC Ltd
 CESC.NS  reported a 2.1% rise in quarterly profit on Monday, aided by higher electricity output
ahead of summer.
    Consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31 increased to 4.33 billion rupees
($52.95 million), compared with 4.24 billion rupees a year earlier, the RP - Sanjiv Goenka Group
flagship company said in an exchange filing. 
    Revenue from operations came in at 31.02 billion rupees, compared with 30.11 billion rupees a
year earlier, while total expenses rose 9.3% year-on-year. 
    
    WHY IT MATTERS 
   
    India's power generation grew at the fastest pace in over three decades in the year ended
March 2023, a Reuters analysis of government data showed, fuelled by a record rise in output from
both coal-fired and renewable plants. 
    Power demand in the first two months of 2023 jumped 10% from a year earlier. 
    CESC's revenue grew 13.6% in the year ended March 2023.
    The Indian government in March urged power utilities to expand output to ensure adequate
supply during the peak summer months. It also directed power utilities to undertake maintenance
for their coal-based plants well in advance and run at full capacity to avoid disruptions during
this period. 
    
    PEERS COMPARISON 
    
                                  Valuation       Estimates     Analysts' sentiment         
                                   (next 12        (next 12                                 
                                   months)         months)                                  
                       RIC      PE     EV/EBIT  Revenue  Profi  Mean    # of      Stock to  Div
                                       DA       growth   t      rating  analysts  price     yield
                                                         growt  *                 target**  (%)
                                                         h                                  
 CESC Ltd                                                     Buy                         
 Tata Power Company                                      9                                
 NTPC Ltd                                                     Buy                         
 Power Grid                                                                               
 Ltd                                                                                        
 
    ** The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and
Strong Sell
    ** The ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means
the stock is trading above the PT

JAN-MARCH STOCK PERFORMANCE
    
    
    -- All data from Refinitiv
    
   


($1 = 81.7800 Indian rupees)

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
January-March quarter stock performance of power generation and distribution companies    https://tmsnrt.rs/3MM7165
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 (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
 ((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com;))