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Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has achieved double digit growth in its topline and bounced back into profit in fiscal 2016-17, reversing the declining trend of the last three years and ending the year with significant traction in growth drivers. This was claimed by Atul Sobti, Chairman & Managing Director, BHEL at the 53rd Annual General Meeting of the company, here on Friday.
Addressing shareholders, Sobti said that during the year, BHEL recorded a turnover of Rs.28,840 Crore, up 11% over the previous year and a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs.628 Crore, compared to a loss of Rs.1164 Crore (IND-AS restated) in the previous fiscal. Net Profit (PAT) stood at Rs.496 Crore, against a net loss of Rs.710 Crore (IND-AS restated) in the previous year. Consequently, an interim equity dividend of 40% has been paid for 2016-17, maintaining the track record of paying dividends uninterruptedly since 1976-77. In addition, the company has recommended a final dividend of 39%, subject to the approval of shareholders. With this, the total dividend for the year 2016-17 would stand at 79%.
2017 marks the 25th year of BHEL being a public listed company and it has been a very rewarding journey for the company’s shareholders. Continuing its endeavour of consistently rewarding investors, the company has also recommended issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1 bonus share for every 2 existing shares, he added.
He said that enhanced focus on expeditious project execution has resulted in BHEL achieving a capacity addition of 45,274 MW during the 12th Five Year Plan period (2012-17), surpassing the target of 41,661 MW set by the government for BHEL, by 9%. With this, BHEL continues to remain the single largest contributor to the country’s power generation capacity addition. During the year, BHEL commissioned/synchronized 8,570 MW of power generating equipment. With this, the company’s installed power generating capacity has gone up to around 180 GW, across the world.
Significantly, four supercritical sets including three sets of 660 MW rating & one unit of 800 MW rating have been successfully commissioned during the year. With this, BHEL has commissioned 15 Steam Generators and 13 Turbine Generators- supercritical sets till date. The company also commissioned its single largest 50 MW Solar PV power plant at NTPC Ananthpur, he added
Another significant achievement of the year was the successful commissioning of all the three units of the prestigious 3×14 MW Salma hydropower project (Afghan India Friendship Dam) in Afghanistan, overcoming major security concerns and immense logistic barriers. With this, the company marked a major milestone in the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
With its innovation-led growth strategy, the company continues to rank among the highest R&D spenders in the country in the engineering and manufacturing segment with an R&D investment of over 2.5% of its turnover. The R&D efforts of the company are aimed at improving the efficiency of existing products and developing new products, relevant to the needs of the country both in terms of technology & features vis-à-vis global benchmarks. During the year, BHEL filed the highest-ever 508 patents and copyrights in a year, enhancing the company’s intellectual capital to 3,915, said the CMD.
The CMD said that for sustaining the momentum of growth and profitability, the company is focusing on expeditious execution of orders and implementing structural changes for making the company more agile. Efforts are being made to convert stranded/slow moving orders into executable ones. Significantly, around Rs 12,000 Crore of non-executable orders have been converted to executable during the year. Customer-focused business groups have been created for nuclear, hydro, defence & aerospace, and transportation for strengthening diversification efforts. A dedicated ‘Project Closure Synergy Group’ has been created to ensure early closure of project sites, optimize manpower utilization, resolving outstanding issues with various stakeholders, and realizing cash.
BHEL achieved a carbon footprint avoidance of 14,378 MT CO2 equivalent during 2016-17 by generating 14.82 MU energy through in-house solar power installations. BHEL has partnered with HelpAge India, PHD Rural Development Foundation (PHDRDF) and Wockhardt Foundation for providing financial support for running operations of total 10 Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) in the vicinity of its project sites and manufacturing units, benefitting more than one lakh patients during 2016-17. Under GoI’s ‘Swachh Bharat’ and ‘Clean Ganga’ initiatives, BHEL is providing support for construction of 25 Clusters of Bio-Digester toilets in Haridwar and Rishikesh, he added.
