SWRE Net Loss Contracts To Rs 99 Cr In December Quarter

Sterling and Wilson Renewable Energy Limited (SWREL) has announced that it has narrowed its consolidated net loss to Rs 99.15 crore in the third quarter ending December. Sterling and Wilson said that the reduction in the losses is caused mainly due to lower expenses. With an EPC portfolio of close to 13 GW and an O&M Portfolio of 7 GW, the firm, once a flag bearer of EPC success from India globally, has endured a tough post Covid period due to volatility in the market. During this period, the firm also saw ownership shift to the Reliance Group, a move that is expected to lead to a surge in orders soon to meet internal renewable energy requirements of the group as well.

Advance and performance bank guarantees encashed by four customers amounting to Rs 588.5 crore of which  final settlement agreement signed with customer for two projects and a sum of Rs 349.7 crore has been refunded .  The Company is in discussion with the other two customers for similar settlements after completing projects.

In the corresponding quarter last fiscal year, Sterling and Wilson had disclosed in its report in a regulatory filing a consolidated net loss of Rs 428.78 crore.

As far as the total income for the October-December quarter is concerned, Sterling and Wilson, it was Rs 417.65 crore. Last fiscal in the same quarter, the total income stood at Rs 1,502.23 crore. O&M constituted 14.4% of revenue in 3QFY23 and have grown 55%
sequentially.

Sterling and Wilson said that the total expenditure of the firm also dwindled to Rs 512.79 crore in this quarter from the corresponding quarter of last fiscal which was Rs 1,918.68 crore.

A large part of the drop has been caused by cancellations and delays in international projects, where the firm hopes to close out the last of the troublesome projects in the current quarter.

Company has been awarded two new contracts in India for Solar EPC from Amplus and Ampyr for projects located in Bikaner, Rajasthan and Koppal, Karnataka respectively Its Unexecuted EPC order book of INR 2,703 crore as of January 18, 2023 with nearly 84% from domestic EPC. Revenue increased by 1.7% QoQ aided by higher contribution from O&M segment.

Sterling and Wilson disclosed in October, 2022, that it had bagged an order of Rs 2,212 from NTPC Renewable Energy Limited for the proposed 1,255 MWac solar power project that will be built at Khavda Renewable Energy Park in Rann of Kutch of Gujarat. The firm had emerged as the lowest bidder in the competitive bidding and the company has also received a 3 year O&M contract as well from the Indian PSU. Interestingly, in its investor presentation for the quarter, the firm has projected solar capacity additions of around 18 GW per annum to 2025 in India. Those projections, if they bear out, would be well below the capacity additions required by the country to meet 2030 targets.

In September, 2022, Sterling and Wilson Solar Solutions, a step down subsidiary of SWREL, announced that it inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, along with its consortium partner Sun Africa. The deal is aimed at the development, design, construction, and commissioning of solar PV power plants aggregating 961 MWp at five different locations in Nigeria along with battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a total installed capacity of 455 MWh.