INDIA’S troubled wind energy giant Suzlon posted its biggest-ever quarterly loss on Thursday (February 14), hit by a combination of hefty debt and declining global demand for turbines.
The firm, once a star of India’s green technology, reported its net loss quadrupled to 11.55 billion rupees ($211/£136.25m) in the three months to December, from a loss of 2.86 billion rupees ($52.8m/£34.13m) a year earlier.
The figures marked Suzlon’s fifth straight quarterly loss.
Suzlon’s chief financial officer Kirti Vagadia said the company’s business performance was “adversely hit due to our abnormal operating environment, leading to a significant loss for the quarter”.
Its chairman Tulsi Tanti called 2012 “challenging” for the wind energy sector, as macro-economic conditions and policy challenges affected markets worldwide.
Tanti said “near-term challenges” will continue to buffet the industry during 2013 but said there were some green shoots across global markets.
Indiais under pressure to increase its use of renewable energy sources and reduce its reliance on coal and oil as the country’s economy expands.
But despite the potential for growth, the global economic crisis has forced several countries to cut spending on green energy sources, which has affected prospects for companies like Suzlon.
Suzlon in October made the biggest default on repayments by an Indian firm when bondholders rejected its bid for a four-month extension to more than $200m (£129.13m) of debt.
But this year, it announced the formal approval of its proposal to restructure its domestic debt of nearly $2bn (£1.29bn).
