REC profit up 14% at Rs 3,308 crore on higher revenu

State-owned REC Ltd (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd) on Tuesday posted about 13.5 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 3,308.42 crore for the December 2023 quarter, mainly on the back of higher revenues.

Its consolidated net profit was Rs 2,915.33 crore in the quarter ended December 2022, a BSE filing showed.

The total income rose to Rs 12,071.54 crore in the quarter from Rs 9,795.47 crore in the same period a year ago.

The board, in its meeting on Tuesday, also approved the incorporation of a project-specific special purpose vehicle as a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC Power Development & Consultancy Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of REC Ltd) for the selection of a successful bidder as Transmission Service Provider (TSP) for Eastern Region Expansion Scheme- XXXIX project allocated by the Ministry of Power through tariff based competitive bidding process.

Besides, it also approved the sale and transfer of the entire shareholding of six subsidiaries (power transmission projects), presently held by REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL) to the successful bidders selected through a tariff-based competitive bidding process.

RECPDCL is a nodal agency for conducting tariff-based bidding of power transmission projects in the country.

These six projects are Dhule Power Transmission Ltd, Bidar Transmission Ltd, Siker Khetri Transmission Ltd, Pachora Power Transmission Ltd, Karera Power Transmission Ltd and Ishanagar Power Transmission Ltd.

An official statement said that owing to the improving asset quality, increase in lending rates and effective management of financing cost, REC is able to record its highest-ever nine-month (April to December) profit of Rs 10,003 crore.

As a result, the annualised earnings per share (EPS) for the period ended December 31, 2023, accelerated to Rs 50.65 per share against Rs 40.79 per share as of December 31, 2022, it informed.

Aided by growth in profits, its net worth has grown to Rs 64,787 crore as of December 31, 2023, an increase of 18 per cent year on year.

The loan book has maintained its growth trajectory and increased by 21 per cent to Rs 4.97 lakh crore from Rs 4.11 lakh crore as of December 31, 2022, the company said.

Signifying improving asset quality, the net credit-impaired assets have reduced to 0.82 per cent from 1.12 per cent, with a provision coverage ratio of 70.41 per cent on NPA (bad loans) assets as of December 2023.

Indicating the ample opportunity to support future growth, the capital adequacy ratio (CRAR) of the company stands at a comfortable 28.21 per cent.

REC is a non-banking finance company (NBFC) and infrastructure financing company (IFC).

It is financing the entire power-infrastructure sector comprising generation, transmission, distribution, renewable energy and new technologies like electric vehicles, battery storage, pumped storage projects, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects.

REC provides loans of various maturities to state, central and private companies for the creation of infrastructure assets in the country.

It has also been given the responsibility of Pradhan Mantri Suryodaya Yojana from the central government.