Suzlon Energy’s revenue rose 48% on a yearly basis to Rs 2,103 crore in Q2FY25 and its net profit almost doubled to Rs 200 crore. The company had an order book of 5.1 GW—its biggest ever. JP Chalasani, chief executive officer, Suzlon Group, talks to Raghavendra Kamath about the company’s plans and the issues in the wind energy segment.
Chinese companies are undercutting prices of wind turbines and other equipment to gain business. How do you look at it?
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We at Suzlon have a defined customer segment called C&I (commercial & industrial) for whom supply reliability is the most important thing. We have a track record of 30 years. We guarantee for life of the plans. About 54% of our 5.1 GW orders come from this segment. The second segment is public sector. We have an advantage because of our efficiency. We did not bid in the last three-four years because our net worth was low. Since we strengthened our balance sheet, we are participating again. We got a 1,165 MW order from NTPC Green Energy in September this year. The third is, utility type IPP (independent power producers) where we have a significant presence. Chinese competition is increasing, but it is not impacting us.
Despite the rise of renewable energy, thermal is still the mainstay of mitigating power demand in the country. How do you look at it? Will it affect the growth of renewable energy?
They will continue to co-exist. The capacity addition in renewables is much higher than thermal. If we add 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, in terms of capacity it will be more than 50%, and in generation it will be more than 40%. Thermal and renewable can co-exist. There’s nothing wrong in adding thermal stations if required.
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Operation & maintenance (O&M) contributed 97% to your profit and 26% to revenue. How do you plan to grow it?
We have a comprehensive O&M play.
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