The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group flagship CESC Ltd reported a 5 per cent dip in net profit to ₹243 crore for the quarter ending March 31, against the same period last year. Total income from operations declined by a sharper 17.5 per cent to ₹1,246 crore.
For the entire 2013-14, CESC reported an 5.5 per cent increase in standalone profit to ₹652 crore, according to a company release. The board of directors of the company recommended a higher dividend of 80 per cent for the fiscal.
On a consolidated basis, the retail business — managed by the wholly-owned Spencer’s Retail Ltd — dragged the company’s profits in the last fiscal.
Contrary to group chairman Sanjiv Goenka’s expectations, that Spencer’s will break-even in 2013-14, the retail outfit ended up posting a substantially higher loss (before interest and taxes) of ₹111 crore, during the last fiscal.
Spencer’s recorded a ₹80-crore loss in 2012-13. This is in sharp contrast to a spectacular performance in the business process outsourcing segment, managed through step-down subsidiary Firstsource Solutions Ltd.
BPO profits The BPO business posted nearly three-and-a-half times higher profit-before-tax-and-interest of ₹288 crore.
Meanwhile, CESC expects to commission two 300-MW units at Haldia, in West Bengal, this fiscal. Another 300 MW unit at Chandrapur in Maharashtra is “likely to be completed soon”.
Preparatory work is on to roll out electricity distribution services in Ranchi.
The company won the distribution franchise in the capital of Jharkhand last year.