State-run engineering major BHEL booked orders worth Rs 40,932 crore in 2017-18, registering 74 per cent jump from the previous financial year, its Chairman and Managing Director Atul Sobti said Wednesday.
BHEL secured all orders for main packages of thermal power projects during 2017-18. "With this, the company has ended the year with a total order book of over Rs 1,18,000 crore - the highest in the last five years," said Sobti in the company's Annual General Meeting.
Addressing the shareholders, Sobti said in 2017-18 the company achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 1,585 crore, compared to Rs 628 crore in 2016-17, registering a surge of 152 per cent.
Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year jumped 63 per cent at Rs 807 crore, against Rs 496 crore in the previous fiscal.
He further said that maintaining the trend of topline (sales) growth for the second consecutive year, BHEL has recorded a turnover of Rs 27,850 crore, as against Rs 27,740 crore in the previous year.
Consequently, a total dividend of 91 per cent has been declared on the enhanced equity share capital post bonus for 2017-18. Notably, this is the highest dividend paid by the company in the last four years, he added.
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Sobti said that during 2017-18, 4,149 MW of power generating capacity was commissioned/ synchronised. In addition, 170 MW of solar PV plants were commissioned by the company. With this, the worldwide installed base of power generating equipment supplied by BHEL has exceeded 183 GW.
The company invested more than 2.5 per cent of its turnover, to the tune of Rs 753 crore, on R&D during the year.
In 2017-18, BHEL also filed the highest-ever 530 patents and copyrights in a year, enhancing its intellectual capital to 4,357 patents and copyrights filed, for productive use in the company's business.
Keeping future requirements at front, the company is focussing on outcome based Engineering & Technology initiatives, Sobti said.
He informed shareholders that India is envisaged to become a USD 10 trillion economy by 2030, which will translate into humongous demand and opportunities in energy and infrastructure sector.
Railways, ports, urban infrastructure, environmental solutions, and core industries like cement, coal, steel and petrochemicals are slated for massive investment in the coming years to fuel India's growth aspirations.
This is bringing many more opportunities for the company, particularly in the areas of clean energy, energy storage, e-mobility, emission control equipment, urban transport and infrastructure development, among others, he added.
The CMD said to move towards the vision of becoming a global engineering enterprise, BHEL will continue to focus on globalisation, and diversification to increase business from non-coal areas, and further strengthen its innovation capabilities.