BHEL bucks economic slowdown

Hyderabad
Sept. 17: Despite the economic slowdown, power equipment maker BHEL has recorded an all-time high turnover of Rs 28,033 crore in the fiscal 2008-09, a growth of 31 per cent over the last fiscal.
Addressing the 45th annual general meeting of the company on Thursday, the chairman and managing director, Mr K. Ravi Kumar, said the PSU major’s exports have increased by a whopping 41 per cent at Rs 3,265 during the year.
“Despite an unprecedented increase in the raw material costs, the company has sustained its profitability and recorded its highest ever net profit of Rs 3,138 crore in 2008-09, which grew around 10 per cent over the previous fiscal,” he said. BHEL paid Rs 832 crore — 170 per cent of the paid-up capital — towards dividend to its shareholders during the year under consideration.
BHEL secured orders worth Rs 59,678 crore — the highest ever in a single year — including utility orders of 17,020 MW. The company has got Rs 13,320 crore orders in the fiscal and the order book has touched Rs 1,17,000 crore at the end of 2008-09.
BHEL has increased its manufacturing capacity to 15,000 MW annually and is planning to achieve 20,000 MW by 2012.
Outlining the trends in the global and domestic economies, the chairman said that the year 2008-09 has been a year of great turbulence “economically and politically and saw the economies of many countries on the brink of collapse with growth figures of many economies being revised downwards.”
He added, “The Indian economy grew by 6.7 per cent in 2008-09.”
Even in such an adverse business environment, he said that the company’s inherent strengths coupled with the Centre’s increased focus on building infrastructure continued to be a source of growth and competitive advantage.