The company, which had clocked a Rs 146-crore net profit in the December 2018 quarter, had a tax write-back of Rs 277 crore and a contingent consideration write-back of Rs 177 crore.
Its total income fell to Rs 2,106 crore from Rs 2,491 crore as demand was subdued, reflecting the broader economy that has been in the dumps since the beginning of the financial year.
"It has been a challenging quarter as power demand declined almost 6.2 per cent, mainly due to poor economic activity. While October witnessed a 13 per cent decline in demand as against a 12 per cent increase last year, November and December were relatively better," JSW Energy joint MD and CEO Prashant Jain told reporters.
He added that the company has already seen the bottom in the demand slowdown. "As the economy is expected to bottom out, we will see a revival in the demand."
The firm's total expenses also dropped to Rs 1,864 crore as against Rs 2,271 crore in the October-December quarter of 2018-19, mainly on the back of decline in fuel cost, which was a result of moderation in the imported coal prices and lower generation.
Explaining the write-back gain on contingent consideration, Jain said the company has written off Rs 570 crore of loan to Jai Prakash Venture Ltd (JPVL), which has been adjusted against reversal of the existing provision of Rs 454 crore and a write-back of Rs 177 crore of JPVL contingent consideration payables in the company's books, resulting in a net gain of Rs 61.46 crore in third quarter of the current financial year.
"The debt restructuring agreement with JPVL now stands completed as we have acquired a five per cent equity stake in the firm, in addition to Rs 120 crore continuing as loan repayable from JPVL to the company," Jain added.
He also said both JPVL and JSW have agreed to forego their respective rights and obligations in relation to the securities purchase agreement signed in 2015 for transfer of Karcham and Baspa hydro assets.
On the acquisition of GMR Kamalanga Energy of 1,050 megawatts (MW), he said the discussions are progressing well between the company and GMR Energy for an expeditious closure and it hopes to sign the transaction in a couple of weeks.
"For Ind-Barath Energy (Utkal) of 700 MW, the approval by the National Company Law Tribunal is under process for the resolution plan submitted by the company. Given the time taken for these resolutions, we expect it to be completed by June this year," he added.
During the quarter, the company completed the transfer of JSW Energy (Kutehr) to JSW Hydro Energy, wholly-owned subsidiary.
Short-term sales during the quarter were lower at 541 million units as compared to 1,112 million units in the third quarter of 2018-19 due to lower short-term sales at both Ratnagiri and Vijayanagar plants.
Commenting on the announcements made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget, Jain said the structural reforms and emphasis on smart metering will ensure improvement in recovery by distribution companies and cash flow to generators. ABI PSK BEN HRS