Suzlon warns of 'transition' year

INDIA: Suzlon has achieved profitable growth in a "year of transition" amid uncertainty in India's wind market, its quarterly results show.

Suzlon's revenue grew to INR 26.65 billion ($415 million) in the quarter

Its revenue increased to INR 26.65 billion ($415 million) from INR 16.48 billion ($257 million) last year — up 61.7%.

Suzlon’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 168% year-on-year to INR 4.75 billion ($74 million), the results show.

It also has a backlog of 1,169MW — including solar projects — worth INR 77.5 billion ($1.2 billion).

The firm delivered 412MW of capacity — 326MW of wind — in the quarter to 30 June, up from 204MW in the same period the previous year.

Suzlon also commissioned India’s tallest wind turbine in the quarter, the 140-metre high variant of its S111 2.1MW model.

The group’s CEO, JP Chalasani said: "We continue to achieve profitable growth as evidenced by the fourth consecutive quarter of delivering net profit. We are confident this momentum will continue."

But Suzlon’s profits come against a backdrop of uncertainty in the Indian wind market, with the country’s transition from feed-in-tariffs to competitive bidding with the first federal auction in February.

State governments’ desire to follow suit has created "temporary volatility", group CEO Mr Chalasni said.

But, he added: "Our presence across the value chain, end-to-end solutions and best-in-class services gives us a competitive edge.

"The future of wind energy is brighter than yesterday. Wind as a source of energy will remain cost competitive, affordable and reliable," he said.