Sajjan Jindal-led power producer JSW Energy reported a net profit of Rs 254 crore for the three moths ended September 30, as against a net loss of Rs 109 crore in corresponding period of previous fiscal, thanks to blend of lower fuel costs and rupee appreciation.

Net sales jumped from Rs 965.56 crore in the second quarter of previous fiscal year to Rs 2,039.43 crore in the same quarter of this fiscal; while pure earnings (EBITDA) increased by a whopping 231 per cent to Rs 622 crore.

NK Jain, vice chairman of JSW Energy, attributed the strong quarterly figures to lower coal prices and higher plant load factor. Commenting on the quarterly results, Jain said, "The coal prices went down in the second quarter coupled with higher plant load factor (PLF) which helped us post this profit."

The PLF jumped from 63.58 per cent in the second quarter of last year to 87.79 per cent in the quarter under review.

However, the company witnessed an increase of 44 per cent in the cost of fuel to Rs 1,100 crore in the quarter under review. But, Jain said that the increase in the fuel cost was due to the rise in quantum of power generation.

As of September 30, the company was burdened with a debt pile of Rs 10,145 crore, with debt gearing at 1.7 times.

JSW Energy is now focusing on signing more long term power sale deals than merchant sale deals due to the volatile nature of the power tariffs. Currently, nearly half of the company's contracts are long term.