Keeping pace with the competitive world and bucking the global recessionary trend, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on Thursday announced the posting of an all-time high turnover of Rs. 28,033 crore during 2008-09.
While exports as a whole have taken a beating in the country, BHEL’s exports increased by a steep 41 per cent to Rs. 3,265 during the year, Chairman and Managing Director K. Ravi Kumar said while addressing the 45th annual meeting of the company.
“Despite unprecedented increase in raw material costs, the company sustained its profitability and recorded its highest-ever net profit (profit after tax) of Rs. 3,138 crore in 2008-09, which grew around 10 per cent over the previous fiscal,” he said. The company paid Rs. 832 crore 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 private sector placed orders worth Rs. 13,320 crore with BHEL in the fiscal. The company had an order book of Rs. 1,17,000 crore at the end of 2008-09. It has increased its manufacturing capacity to 15,000 MW annually and is planning to achieve 20,000 MW by 2012.
About the research and development efforts, Mr. Kumar said BHEL spent Rs. 690 crore on research and development programmes in 2008-09, 40 per cent higher than the previous year, which is 2.46 per cent of its sales turnover. The technology development efforts undertaken by BHEL have led to filing of 213 patents and copyrights.
As part of its endeavour to develop more efficient products or technologies, BHEL is upgrading its facilities for solar photovoltaics to handle thinner and larger multi- and non-crystalline wafers. With this state-of-the-art facility, it will be able to offer solar cells of 15-16 per cent efficiency and PV modules up to 270W power output from 2009-10 onwards.
The company has also formed a joint venture with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for setting up manufacturing facility for silicon wafers, solar cells and modules. The company is also augmenting its capacity for fabrication of space quality batteries to meet the growing techno-commercial demands of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its satellite projects.
BHEL has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GE for diesel electric locomotives and manufacturing of propulsion systems for these locomotives.
