KSEB again reports loss of Rs570.48 cr for Q2

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd (KSEB Ltd), the sole distributor of power in the state, has once again reported a loss of Rs570.49 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 (Q2).

In the meantime, the auditors have qualified the accounts of the company citing deviation from accounting standards.

“The company (KSEBL) has presented the financial information in deviation from Indian Accounting Standards (IAS) specified under Section 133 of the Companies Act 2013 (as amended),” the auditors noted.

The company had reported a profit of Rs102.28 crore for the previous quarter ended June 30, 2023. Moreover, the corresponding quarter in the previous year also had witnessed a similar profit of Rs105.79 crore.

The financially stressed ‘power company’ sits on a total debt of Rs16,114.17 crore as of September 30, 2023 compared with Rs16,529.27 crore at the start of the financial year.

The most disheartening aspect of the KSEB financials, according to financial analysts, is the pathetic condition of its net worth which is in a huge negative of Rs33,169.67 crore against its share capital of Rs3499.05 crore.

For the quarter under review, the revenue from operations at Rs4692.71 crore has been lower compared with the previous quarter as well as the corresponding quarter in the previous year at Rs5330.36 crore and Rs4726.27 crore respectively.

More importantly, the company shelled out larger amount of Rs3393.46 crore for the purchase of power during the quarter under review.

While the company spent Rs3101.59 crore on purchase of power during the previous quarter ending June 30, the purchase of power during the corresponding quarter in the last year saw KSEB spend only Rs2587.82 crore.

Interestingly, the expenses on employee benefits during the second quarter (Q2) was much lower at Rs759.67 crore compared with a much larger Rs1,172.78 crore spent during the previous quarter ending June end and Rs893.34 crore expended during the same quarter a year ago.