The Indian rupee may have taken a dive last year, but that didn't stop electricity producer OPG Power Ventures (OPG) firing off a stellar set of figures. Pre-tax profit in rupees more than doubled, and although a chunk of the gain was lost in translation, even in sterling, profits were up 70 per cent.
The company puts its strong performance down to the high utilisation levels of its coal-fired power plants. Utilisation at OPG averaged 96 per cent during the year, well ahead of the 80 to 85 per cent national average.
Future growth will come from a big step up in generation capacity. OPG expects the new Indian government to keep the country on the path of economic growth. That growth brings a greater need for reliable power supply. OPG is planning to add 480 megawatts (MW) of new power plants this year, taking its total capacity to 750MW.
There's a carrot for shareholders, too: OPG expects to declare a maiden dividend once the new capacity is up and running. Current City consensus is for earnings per share to rise to 5.4p this year (from 4.1p in 2013-14).
OPG POWER VENTURES (OPG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 103p | MARKET VALUE: | £362m | |
| TOUCH: | 93-9102.5-104.55p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 103p | LOW: 48p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 25 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 39p | NET DEBT: | 120% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 11.5 | 5.4 | 0.3 | nil |
| 2011 | 33.2 | 11.2 | 2.1 | nil |
| 2012 | 45.2 | 2.3 | 0.1 | nil |
| 2013 | 56.2 | 10.5 | 2.5 | nil |
| 2014 | 98.8 | 17.9 | 4.1 | nil |
| % change | +76 | +70 | +67 | - |
