Total expenses for the quarter was Rs 33,528.14 crore, compared to Rs 35,598.4 crore a year ago.
Operating profit, calculated as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), grew by nearly 17% on year to Rs 11,369.40 crore. Operating margin expanded a sharp 471 basis points to 29.06%.
Fuel cost, which forms a lion’s share of the total expenses, declined 11% on year during the quarter to Rs 22,850.27 crore.
The total installed capacity at the Group level was 73,024 MW, up by 3,910 MW from the year-ago period. At the standalone level, NTPC’s total installed capacity was 57,038 MW.
Gross generation for the quarter was 88.55 billion units, compared to 90.49 billion units a year ago. Commercial generation was 88.3 billion units, compared to 90.40 billion units a year ago. NTPC produced 6.24 million tonne coal in the quarter, compared to 4.10 million tonne a year ago.
The plant load factor (PLF) at coal units across India improved to 70.38% from 69.23% a year ago. A plant load factor is a measure of the average capacity utilisation of a thermal power unit. In industry parlance, load factor is a measure of the output of a power plant compared to the maximum output the plan can produce.