New power project fires NTPC

New power project fires NTPC

National Thermal Power Corporation gained 1.15% to Rs 203.05 at 10:37 IST on BSE, after the company said it has signed an agreement with Bihar State Electricity Board to form a joint venture company to undertake a thermal power project in Bihar..

The company made this announcement after market hours on Thursday, 14 February 2008.

Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was down 101.19 points or 0.57% to 17,665.44, on weak cues from the global markets. US stocks dropped on Thursday, 14 February 2008, as the credit crunch surfaced unexpectedly in the municipal bond market and after the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that he sees sluggish economic growth ahead.

On BSE, 7.18 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 37.16 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 203.65 and a low of Rs 196 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 291 on 15 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 129 on 5 March 2007.

The large-cap scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 14 February 2008, declining 22.43% compared to the Sensex’s decline of 10.58%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 24.04% compared to Sensex’s decline of 9.81%.

The company’s current equity is Rs 8245.46 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 203.05 discounts its Q3 December 2007 annualized EPS of Rs 8.63, by a PE multiple of 23.53.

The joint venture company (JVC) would undertake the establishment and operation & maintenance of a 1980 megawatt coal based thermal power project at Nabinagar, Aurangabad district, in Bihar. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and Bihar State Electricity Board will have equal shareholdings in the JVC.

In November 2007, NTPC signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam to form a joint venture for establishing and operating a coal based thermal power project at Meja Tehsil or any other suitable site in Allahabad district in Uttar Pradesh.

NTPC’s net profit declined 15.4% to Rs 1779.90 crore on 9.4% growth in net sales to Rs 9330.80 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

NTPC’s core business is operation of power generating plants. It also provides consultancy in the area of power generation to companies in India and abroad.