General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses during the three months ended December 31, 2018 increased by INR 19.7 million (US$ 0.3 million), or 6%, to INR 374.3 million (US$ 5.4 million) compared to the same period in 2017. The increase in general and administrative expenses was lower than the increase in revenue due to economies of scale of operations.
Depreciation and Amortization
Effective October 1, 2018, the Company extended the estimated useful life of most of its utility scale projects from 25 years to 35 years. This change in accounting estimate was based on the Company’s various technical evaluations and tests, through which the Company estimated that its solar modules will continue to generate power for at least 35 years at high efficiency levels.
Depreciation and amortization expenses during the three months ended December 31, 2018 increased by INR 1.0 million, or 0.2%, to INR 476.0 million (US$ 6.8 million) compared to the same period in 2017. There was no significant change in the depreciation and amortization expense as the additional depreciation on new projects commissioned since last year was offset by a decrease in depreciation expense on account of change in useful life.
Interest Expense, Net
Net interest expense during the three months ended December 31, 2018 decreased by INR 14.1 million (US$ 0.2 million), or 1%, to INR 1,115.8 million (US$ 16.0 million) compared to the same period in 2017. Interest expense decreased on account of increase in interest income partly offset by borrowings for new projects during the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
Loss on Foreign Currency Exchange
Foreign exchange loss during the three months ended December 31, 2018 increased by INR 108.7 million (US$ 1.6 million) compared to the same period in 2017 to a loss of INR 17.9 million (US$ 0.3 million). The foreign exchange loss increased primarily on account of realized foreign currency payments.
Income Tax Expense / (Benefit)
Income tax expense increased by INR 213.5 million (US$ 3.1 million) to INR 62.5 million (US$ 0.9 million) during the three months ended December 31, 2018 reflecting an increase in profits during the third quarter of 2019.
Net Profit
The net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 was INR 165.3 million (US$ 2.4 million) as compared to a net loss of INR 136.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, reflecting an improvement of INR 301.5 million (US$ 4.3 million) as compared to the same period in 2017. The increase was primarily due to an increase in revenue and economies of scale on operating costs achieved during the period.
Cash Flow and Working Capital
Cash generated from operating activities for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 was INR 789.0 million (US$ 11.3 million), an increase of INR 383.5 million (US$ 5.5 million) as compared to the prior comparable period, primarily due to increase in revenue during the period.
Cash used in investing activities for the nine months ended December 31, 2018 was INR 13,114.3 million (US$ 188.5 million) compared to INR 16,303.3 million for the prior comparable period. The cash outflow was primarily due to INR 14,590.9 million (US$ 209.7 million) incurred to purchase Property, Plant and Equipment.
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