BHEL Q4 profit surges 49 pc to Rs 683 crore

State-owned BHEL Monday posted 49.33 per cent jump in standalone net profit at Rs 682.70 crore for March quarter 2018-19 mainly on the back of higher revenues. The company's profit in the year-ago period stood at Rs 457.17 crore, as per a BSE filing. Total income rose to Rs 10,418.03 crore in March quarter from Rs 10,351.07 crore in the same period of 2017-18. During 2018-19 fiscal, the standalone profit rose to Rs 1,215.39 crore from Rs 806.60 crore a year ago. Total income jumped to Rs 31,026.59 crore from Rs 29,507.28 crore in 2017-18. 

Consolidated profit during the fiscal went up at Rs 1,009.16 crore from Rs 438.19 crore in the previous fiscal. Income also rose to Rs 31,029.17 crore from Rs 29,506.72 crore in 2017-18. In addition to interim dividend of Rs 0.80 per share (40 per cent) already paid (on share with face value of Rs 2 each), the company's board Monday recommended a final dividend of Rs 1.20 per share (60 per cent). Total dividend for 2018-19 would stand at 100 per cent, on the equity. The total dividend outflow for 2018-19 shall be the highest during the last six years.The earning per share for 2018-19 is Rs 3.35 as against Rs 2.20 in 2017-18. 

"Prudent strategies of garnering business in a shrunken and highly competitive business environment coupled with thrust on diversification, have resulted in several breakthroughs," BHEL Chairman Atul Sobti told PTI. During the year, the company booked highest-ever orders in its transportation business segment and spares and services, BHEL said. It also developed in-house India's first state-of-the-art regenerative braking system for 5000 HP WAG-7 electric locomotive and delivered BHEL's first 6,000 HP electric locomotive to Indian Railways.

BHEL also received its maiden order for electrification of 440 km rail track. The company forayed into the floating solar power business with the first commercial scale order of 5 MW at Sagardighi. It also entered the electric vehicle (EV) market with maiden order for installation of Solar-based EV Chargers along the Delhi-Chandigarh highway. 

In addition, the company has entered other new segments like lake purification, municipal water segment, PV plants with battery storage, etc. In overseas markets, despite challenging circumstances, BHEL secured 50 orders for projects, products, systems and services from 17 countries in the last fiscal. This includes an order for the largest hydro power plant in Nepal, 4x225 MW Arun-3 Hydroelectric Project. BHEL also bagged an EPC project - 32 MW Djermaya Solar Power, in Chad. "With focus on core business, equal efforts are being made to increase the share of business from ?Non-Coal' areas to 50 per cent from the current level of 30 per cent. BHEL is pursuing new initiatives in various areas such as solar, water, defence, aerospace, electricity storage solutions, e-mobility, railway electrification," Sobti said.

BHEL continues to lay strong foundations for new avenues of future growth. Initiatives in the new business areas will require technology development as the most critical input, he added.  The company has taken up in-house development of important technologies including Advanced Ultra Supercritical Technology (AUSC), Coal to Methanol, propulsion technology, etc. Significant progress has been made in the AUSC project, and among other milestones, BHEL has successfully poured the world's heaviest casting for alloy 625M turbine casings. 

BHEL is also in the process of setting up a rail-based logistics terminal at Haridwar and plans to make Bengaluru a solar business hub along with further expansion of solar PV manufacturing capacity.