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New Delhi, Oct. 29: State-run Bhel today reported a 9.74 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 1,274.45 crore in the second quarter of the fiscal on the back of disappointing earnings and order book growth.
The power equipment major had posted a net profit of Rs 1,412.03 crore in the July-September quarter of the last financial year.
Income from operations during the quarter grew a little over 2 per cent to Rs 11,009.28 crore from Rs 10,758.08 crore in the same period last fiscal.
In the absence of any significant new orders, Bhel’s order book at the end of the quarter stood at Rs 1,22,300 crore, its lowest order backlog for any quarter in over three years.
Analysts said the order inflow continued to disappoint, raising concerns of cancellations during the quarter. In the first quarter of this fiscal, the order book stood at Rs 1,32,900 crore.
Bhel shares today dropped over 6 per cent wiping off Rs 3,672 crore in investor wealth following the announcement. Shares of Bhel hit a low of Rs 226.15 before settling at Rs 227.25, down 6.19 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, Bhel has approached the government for a 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 will not require the 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.
Grasim show
Grasim Industries today said its consolidated net profit rose 48.32 per cent to Rs 620 crore in the quarter ended September 30, driven by an impressive show by its cement arm UltraTech, whose net more than doubled.
Consolidated revenue rose to Rs 6,602 crore from Rs 5,755 crore in the same quarter in previous fiscal, the Aditya Birla Group company said.
UltraTech’s net revenue stood at Rs 4,970 crore compared with Rs 4,192 crore.
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