NTPC drops

National Thermal Power Corporation slumped 3.15% to Rs 195.40 at 11:23 IST on BSE even as the company said on Friday, 29 February 2008, it would invest Rs 7341 crore for setting up a 1,320 megawatt power plant in Bihar.

The company made this announcement after trading hours on Friday, 29 February 2008.

Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was down 478.29 points or 2.72% to 17,100.43, as Asian stocks fell sharply amid growing concerns about the global impact of a US slowdown.

On BSE, 8.95 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 34.31 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 197.70 and a low of Rs 194.10 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 outperformed the market over the past one month till 29 February 2008, gaining 1.95% compared to the Sensex’s decline of 0.40%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 14.75% compared to Sensex’s decline of 9.22%.

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

The current price of Rs 195.40 discounts its Q3 December 2007 annualized EPS of Rs 8.63, by a PE multiple of 22.64.

On 15 February 2008, NTPC signed an agreement with Bihar State Electricity Board to form a joint venture company to undertake a thermal power project in Bihar.

On 27 February 2008, the company signed a loan agreement for 68.56 million euros with Nordic Investment Bank to part fund its capital expenditure.

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.