BHEL FY04 profit rises 48%, payout at 60%

Bharat Heavy Electricals, the state owned heavy engineering company, today proposed an enhanced equity dividend of 60 per cent. The company announced a 48 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 658 crore in 2003-04.

Addressing the annual general meeting of the company, BHEL's newly appointed CMD AK Puri attributed the performance to the company's strong fundamentals and continued focus on growth strategies like prudent financial management, benchmarking against international standards, aggressive marketing and cost control measures.

Turnover was at an all-time high of Rs 8,662 crore and profit before tax was Rs 1,015 crore. Earnings per share jumped 48 per cent to Rs 26.89. BHEL's net worth at Rs 5.278 crore and net asset value per share at Rs 215.6 went up by over 12 per cent.

"BHEL secured the highest-ever orders worth Rs 16,478 crore in a single year, despite operating under intense competitive pressures in domestic and international markets," Puri said, adding the major highlight of the year was the number of orders won for 500 mw thermal power projects.

"With a cumulative order book position of over Rs 23,650 crore at the close of the financial year (March, 2004), we expect to achieve healthy top and bottom line growth in the current fiscal and beyond," Puri said.