OPG Power Ventures PLC on Wednesday reported a slump in interim profit as revenue fell on much lower electricity generation and heightened coal prices and freight tariffs.

OPG Power develops and operates power plants in India.

In the six months to September 30, pretax profit fell to £725,332 from £7.4 million a year prior. Revenue more than halved to £27.0 million from £55.6 million, while general & administrative expenses widened by 19% to £2.7 million from £2.2 million.

OPG Power Ventures shares fell 10% to 6.28 pence each on Wednesday afternoon in London.

‘The company continued to be plagued with abnormally high coal prices and freight tariffs in the first half of financial year 2023 due to the ongoing international conflict between Russia and Ukraine,’ OPG explained.

The company produced 487.01 million units of energy, down from 1.30 billion a year ago. The average tariff was 67% higher at ₹9.14, around £0.09, compared to ₹5.47.

Meanwhile, company debt was reduced by 39% to £4.2 million at September 30 from £6.9 million at March 31.

Looking ahead, OPG expects revenue for the financial year to March 31 to be lower than financial 2022’s £80.1 million. This had been 15% lower than £93.8 million in financial 2021.

‘Whilst the revenue for financial year 2023 will be lower than the revenue in financial year 2022 primarily due to higher coal and freight prices, the long-term fundamentals of the group remain unchanged. Post the rationalization of coal prices and freight costs, the company expects to deliver excellent operational and financial performance,’ OPG said.

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