India’s Adani Power reports quarterly profit fall as demand eases

Jan 29 (Reuters) — India’s Adani Power reported a 18.9% fall in third-quarter profit ​on Thursday, hurt by lower power ‌demand.

The firm, part of billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani ‌Group is the country’s largest private thermal power producer, and operates an installed capacity of 18,150 megawatts across India.

Adani Power said ⁠its consolidated net ‌profit fell to 24.8 billion rupees ($269.8 million) in the quarter ended ‍December 31 from 30.57 billion rupees a year earlier.

Power demand during the quarter took a hit, ​largely due to extended monsoon showers, ‌which lasted through October, and cooler temperatures, the company said.

India’s total power consumption declined during October and November but recovered in December, analysts at Motilal Oswal said.

Adani Power’s ⁠revenue from operations, entirely ​from power generation and ​related activities, declined 8.9% to 124.51 billion rupees.

State-owned rival Bharat Heavy Electricals also ‍flagged weak ⁠power demand during the quarter.

Shares of Adani Power rose 0.9% after the results.

($1 = ⁠91.9375 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Yagnoseni Das and Abhirami ‌G in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen ‌Soreng and Mrigank Dhaniwala)