Reliance Power Q4 net up 23.5 pct

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Reliance Power posted nearly a quarter rise in Jan-March profit on new capacity while scarce and expensive fuel kept prospects at some of its key projects clouded.
India's power generators have been slow on expansion and running below capacity as fuel supply remains short and financially-troubled state distribution utilities buy less power.
Production at state monopoly Coal India has stagnated because of delayed green nod and land acquisition and the company's failure to invest enough in new mines and technologies, while gas output has sharply declined in the country.
The troubles for Reliance Power, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, stem mainly from the shortage of cheap local fuel and expensive imports. Its 2400-MW plant in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh is ready but can't operate because of local gas shortage.
"I don't think today you have any other solution other pooling the gas," Chief Executive Officer J.P. Chalasani told reporters in Mumbai, referring to a proposal where new gas-based plant owners want the government to meet the shortfall in local gas supply through imports and charge an average price from all buyers.
The proposal to pool gas was unviable as the owners of plants with assured cheap local gas supply were not agreeing to the idea as it would jack up their costs, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told Reuters last week.
Another 4000-MW imported coal-based project in Andhra Pradesh has been delayed after Indonesia pushed up coal prices pushing Reliance into a legal battle with state governments, which have been threatening to penalise the company for the delay.
The company wants state governments to raise tariffs for the project that was originally bid for at a fixed rate.
Reliance's net profit rose 23.5 percent to rupees 2.31 billion rupees in the Jan-March quarter as capacity doubled in a year. Sales rose 7.6 percent to 5.33 billion rupees.
Reliance added 640 MW in 2011/12 to raise total capacity to 1240 MW. It plans to raise capacity to 5000 MW by December 2012.
Analysts expected a consolidated profit of 2.12 billion rupees on sales of 5.55 billion rupees for the March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company's shares, valued at $4.6 billion, closed 3.66 percent higher on Thursday at 93.35 rupees in a Mumbai market <.BSESN> that rose 1.72 percent.
(Reporting by Ketan Bondre in MUMBAI; Sanjeev Choudhary in NEW DELHI; editing by James Jukwey)