NLC India To Increase Capex To Rs 1.25 Lakh Crore By 2030

NLC India Ltd. will invest Rs 1.25 lakh crore towards capital expenditure in the next five years by 2030 as the company is aiming capacity expansion across segments, according to Chairperson Prasanna Motupalli.

The state-owned firm is aiming to increase its renewable-energy generation capacity by seven times and thermal-energy generation capacity to 12 gigawatts from 4 GW and mining capacity from 50 million tonnes to 100 MT, the managing director said.

"We are going to increase capex to Rs 1.25 lakh crore by 2030. For that, equity requirement is Rs 25,000 crore and we are fully funded by internal sources and the asset monetisation programme, which we are doing for our existing renewables," he told NDTV Profit in an interview.

NLC India expects the asset monetisation process, which has already started, to generate nearly Rs 8,000 crore. "The assets have to be transferred to our fully owned subsidiary. We are expecting that by the March of this financial year or Q1 of next financial year," Motupalli said.

On the quarterly results, Motupalli said the June quarter was an "outstanding quarter" for NLC India as it achieved an all-round improvement in performance, both in lignite production and coal production. The company's net profit jumped 37% to Rs 566.7 crore in the June quarter, beating analysts' estimates. In the year-ago period, it had posted a profit of Rs 413.6 crore.

"There is a 26% increase in lignite production, 35% increase in coal production and more than 10% increase in power generation. The profit also increased by 37%, which is an excellent performance compared to last financial year," he said.

The CMD underscored regulatory orders caused the company's margins to narrow by 400 basis points. "We are expecting an improvement in operating performance going forward."