The Hindu : Jump in NLC profit

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003

Business

Business

Jump in NLC profit

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI JUNE 9. Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), a Government of India enterprise, has reported a net profit of Rs.1150.84 crores for the year ended March 2003 on a sales turnover of Rs. 2681.48 crores, up from Rs. 819.20crores on sales of Rs. 2236.95crores in the preceding year.

The board of NLC has proposed a dividend of 14 per cent for 2002-03.

Addressing a press conference here today, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company, S. Jayaraman, said that NLC produced a record 186.24 lakh tonnes (183.69 lakh tonnes) of lignite from its open-cast mines and generated 14968.42 million units of power (14451.31 million units) during the just-ended year.

The CMD said couple of projects — the Rs.1658.38-crore Mine-I expansion and the Rs.1032.81-crore Mine-1A expansion - had gone on stream in March without cost and time over-runs. During the year, the first unit (210 MW) of Thermal Power Station-I Expansion was synchronised in October last. The second unit would be synchronised next month, he said.

The CMD said NLC was waiting for a PIB nod for the Rs. 2014.88-crore, 4.5 million-tonne lignite Mine-II Expansion Project and its linked 2 x 250 MW Thermal Power Station-II Expansion Power Plant. On the Rajasthan Mine-cum-Power Projects (2 x 125 MW), the process was on for a power purchase agreement, he pointed out.

The CMD said the Government had cleared an outlay of Rs.14133.58 crores for NLC during the Tenth Plan. During the X Plan, NLC had proposed a 1000 MW coal-based thermal plant in tandem with Tamil Nadu Electricity Board at Tuticorin. The proposal had already an in-principle approval from the Centre. A memorandum of understanding would be signed shortly, he said.

Mine III (8 million tonnes a year) and 2X500 MW Thermal Power Station III at Neyeli, a refinery-based thermal power plant at Chennai in co-operation with Chennai Petroleum, a 2000 MW power plant in Ib Valley in Orissa and 1000 MW coal-based power plant in Madhya Pradesh were among a slew of proposals NLC had drawn up for the X Plan.

The CMD said NLC would spend around Rs.480 crores during the first year of the Plan period.

He said NLC had no option but to shut down the bleeding fertilizer plant.

The plant had run up an accumulated loss of around Rs. 400-450 crores. The CMD said the displaced labour was redeployed in other new projects. He claimed that NLC had not recruited any fresh employee for its new projects. With a VRS (voluntary retirement scheme), the employee strength of NLC was now down to around 19,000 from 23,000 not so long ago. The CMD said NLC had assorted options — including that of letting someone to run the fertilizer plan on a lease basis — for disposing of the fertilizer plant and machinery.

To a question, he said the total outstanding dues of NLC from state electricity boards stood at Rs. 2374crores at the end of March 2003.

A tripartite agreement between the Centre, States and the Reserve Bank of India had provided for issuance of bonds of fixed maturity with a coupon rate of 6.5 per cent to power producers like NLC in lieu of dues owed to them by State electricity boards.

The CMD hoped that securitisation of its dues would happen sooner.

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