Suzlon Group, a renewable energy solutions provider, headquartered in Pune, has announced its financial results for the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2019-20 (FY20).

The revenue of the Suzlon group for Q1 FY20 came to ₹8.33 billion (~$117 million). In terms of the pre-forex (foreign exchange) operating performance, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was ₹610 million (~$ 8.5 million) with an EBITDA margin of 7.4% in Q1 FY20.

The earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) indicates a loss of ₹120 million (~$1.68 million) in Q1 FY20. The reported net loss of the company in the same period was ₹3.37 billion (~$47.34 million). The consolidated net term debt (including foreign currency convertible bond) was ₹77.51 billion (~$ 1.08 billion). The working capital debt of the company has been reported to be ₹40 billion (~$ 562.47).

“We continue to witness a sectoral slowdown, owing to the prolonged industry transition to the bidding regime and policy uncertainty in a few states. On the positive side, tariffs are stabilizing and the volume growth in the long-term augur well for sustainable growth of the sector. Our operation and maintenance services (OMS) division continues to deliver high machine performance for the customers, surpassing industry benchmarks. We will fuel the growth for OMS with our value-added products and services. India is expected to be a relatively high-volume market once the transitional problems of the sector are addressed. We are well poised to capitalize on this growth,” said group CEO, J.P.Chalasani.

In terms of operations and maintenance services (OMS), the company, Suzlon Group, has achieved 97.25% fleet machine availability. This figure is primarily for customers for which the company operates and maintains a fleet of over 12.5 GW capacity.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has made changes to the competitive bidding guidelines for grid-connected wind power projects in the country. The period for revision of declared capacity utilization factor (CUF) of wind energy projects has been increased to three years. According to the MNRE, the amendments are aimed at reducing investment risks because of land acquisition and CUF. The changes in the guidelines also support incentives for earlier part commissioning of wind projects.

In June 2019, the company reported that its consolidated net loss for the last quarter (Q4) of the year (ending March 31, 2019) had reduced to ₹2.94 billion ($35.6 million), a decrease of more than ₹1.75 billion ($25 million) compared to the same period last year. The company’s revenue from operations for Q4 FY19 stood at ₹14.21 billion ($203 million), a decline of over 34% from the revenue of Q4 FY18.

A few months ago, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued an order providing relief to Suzlon which is operating 7,400 MW of wind energy projects which needed retrofitting. Suzlon Energy Limited had filed a petition seeking an extension of time and to revisit clauses about the minimum capacity criteria for the applicability of low voltage ride through (LVRT) solution.

Image Credit: Suzlon