State-owned BHEL today reported nearly 9.74% decline in net profit at Rs 1,274.45 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2012.
The power equipment major had net profit of Rs 1,412.03 crore in the July-September quarter of last financial year.
BHEL said in a filing to stock exchanges that its income from operations in the July-September quarter grew a little over 2% at Rs 11,009.28 crore, from Rs 10,758.08 crore in the same period last fiscal.
The company's orderbook stands at Rs 1.3 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, BHEL has approached the government for grant of Maharatna status, which will give them greater financial autonomy.
At present, BHEL is a Navratna PSU. Once a company gets the Maharatna tag, its board does not require government's permission for investments of up to Rs 5,000 crore in a joint venture project or wholly-owned subsidiary. For the Navratna companies, the limit is Rs 1,000 crore.
According to the guidelines, a company qualifying for the Maharatna status should have an average annual turnover of more than Rs 25,000 crore in the previous three years.
At present, there are five Maharatna companies -- ONGC, Indian Oil, SAIL, NTPC and CIL and 16 Navratna companies, including Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, NMDC and GAIL.
The government had announced the Maharatna scheme in December, 2009 to give more operational freedom to the top performing PSUs.
