JSW Energy, a part of the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, on Tuesday reported a 6.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 244 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2019, aided by a reduction in finance and fuel costs.

"The power had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 229 crore in the same period last year," JSW Energy said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The company's consolidated revenues rose marginally by 1 per cent to Rs 2,464 crore in April-June quarter of current fiscal as compared to Rs 2,428 crore in the year-ago period.

In Q1FY20, EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) was at Rs 861 crore as against Rs 844 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, registering an increase of 2 per cent.

The fuel cost reduced by 1.66 per cent to Rs 1,366.43 crore versus Rs 1,389.24 crore in the previous year period, largely due to moderation in the imported coal prices. JSW Energy said in a regulatory filing.

During the quarter under review, the finance cost reduced by 13.73 per cent YoY to Rs 270 crore, while the cost of power purchase declined by 56 per cent to Rs 3.85 crore.

"For JSW Energy, this was a stable quarter. Our revenues increased by 1.5 per cent, but we managed to maintain our margins at 35 per cent. Our PAT improved mainly on the back of repayment of debt which brought down our interest cost," the company's director and chief operating officer Sharad Mahendra said.

He said that the company is going to foray into the solar power sector. "We are examining the environment in solar power and will consider participating in reverse bidding for setting up projects. In the first rush to set up solar plants, there was a lot of dollar-funded private equity investors participating who brought the tariffs down. We believe this has stabilized now and tariffs at ?2.60-2.85 per kWh range suit a long-term player like us," Mahendra added.

JSW Energy has set up JSW Solar, a fully-owned subsidiary, to participate in reverse bidding auctions of intermediaries such as Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) and State distribution companies (Discoms). The company currently has set up a group captive solar capacity of 10MW at Nandyal and Salboni.

In a separate development, JSW Energy board approved the raising of long term funds up to Rs 2,500 crore, through the issuance of Redeemable Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) by way of a private placement. The company has authorised the finance committee to decide on all matters relating to the proposed issuance of the debentures, including finalisation and approval of the detailed terms of issue.

Ahead of Q1 earnings, shares of JSW Energy closed trade at Rs 1,128 apiece, down 1.31 per cent, on the BSE on Tuesday.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar