Bhel chairman and managing director Ashok K. Puri (right) in Delhi on Friday. (PTI)

New Delhi, April 1: Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) has posted a net profit of Rs 1,002 crore for the financial year ended March 31, which is a 52 per cent jump over the corresponding previous period.

The company?s turnover , at Rs 10,520 crore, increased 21 per cent, which is the highest growth rate achieved in the last two decades, Bhel chairman Ashok Puri said.

Bhel?s earning per share has gone up to Rs 40.90, which is 52 per cent higher than last year. Puri sees a bright future for Bhel, which had the highest-ever order inflow of Rs 18,016 crore during the year from domestic and overseas markets. At the end of the year, the company had outstanding orders worth Rs 31,800 crore.

The company has secured the maximum number of engineering contracts ?six out of eight orders for thermal power projects.

Puri said Bhel had secured export orders worth Rs 448 crore during the year. For the first time, the company has bagged an export order for a 63-MW combined cycle power plant in Australia.

?A maiden order for mainline locomotives from Sudan has marked the company?s entry into a new market with a new product,? he added.

The company?s total export turnover stood at Rs 2,331 crore, accounting for over 22 per cent of its earnings.

Puri said Bhel is implementing a phased investment programme of Rs 800-1000 crore to raise its annual capacity from 6,000 MW to 10,000 MW by March 2007 to cater to the country's power expansion plans. The investment will be made through internal accruals.