Power Finance Corporation (PFC) profit down nearly 80%

New Delhi: State-owned Navratna Power PSU Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has reported about 80 percent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 693.71 crore for the quarter ended March 2020. The reported loss has been attributed mainly due to transaction exchange loss. The power PSU had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,391.27 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2019. Total income during the quarter under review rose to Rs 16,254.65 crore from Rs 14,387.92 crore in the year-ago quarter. For the fiscal year 2019-20, consolidated net profit declined to Rs 9,477.24 crore from Rs 12,640.27 crore in 2018-19. However, total income in 2019-20 rose to Rs 62,275.36 crore from Rs 54,156.83 crore in 2018-19.

The drop in net profit is primarily due to transaction (foreign) exchange loss of Rs 3,084.78 crore for the quarter ended March 31 as compared with a gain of Rs 160.23 crore in the year-ago period, it said. 
For fiscal 2019-20, transaction exchange loss widened to Rs 4,991.32 crore from Rs 1,041.44 crore in 2018-19. Speaking to PSU Watch, Power Finance Corporation CMD RS Dhillon said "there is no reason to believe that the COVID-19 pandemic will have any significant impact on the ability of the company to run its operations".

"With its robust IT infrastructure and digital communication technology, the company encouraged its employees to work from home. This enabled our workforce to work securely through remote technology ensuring business continuity," the CMD said.

"The company disbursed around Rs 11,000 crore to finance power sector projects during the first week of lockdown till March 31, 2020, which bears testimony to its attempt to create a pandemic-proof workplace," CMD RS Dhillon added.

He said PFC is fully geared to meet its funding needs.

"With its robust IT infrastructure and digital communication technology, the company encouraged its employees to work from home. This enabled our workforce to work securely through remote technology ensuring business continuity,"- RS Dhillon, CMD, Power Finance Corporation (PFC)

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