BHEL order rises by 10% in a bleak market

Though capital goods market is reeling due to slowdown and there is dearth of orders, despite this PSU turbine manufacturer BHEL showed strength during FY15. During the year BHEL secured orders worth Rs.30,814 Crore, an increase of 10% over the previous year, that too in a competitive domestic and overseas markets. What was more important that despite severe market shrinkage and stiff competition in the power sector, BHEL maintained its leadership position with a market share of 72% for the second consecutive year. Also by expanding its offerings, the company secured 89% of its total orders in the power sector on EPC basis. “At the end of the year total orders in hand for execution in 2015-16 and beyond, stand at Rs.1,01,018 Crore,” informed  B. Prasada Rao, CMD BHEL at the 51st Annual General Meeting of the company.

 While addressing shareholders, Rao said that for the third time in a row, BHEL synchronized/ commissioned power projects of more than 10,000 MW in a single year. Power projects totalling 11,941 MW were commissioned/ synchronized during the year, inclusive of 10,230 MW utility sets, 1,392 MW captive sets/ industrial sets in the country and 319 MW in overseas markets. 2014-15 marked a turnaround in the Indian Hydropower sector with an addition of 736 MW to Central utilities, the highest in a decade. Notably, this entire 736 MW of Hydroelectric projects were commissioned by BHEL.

 In a constrained business environment, the company demonstrated tremendous resilience and achieved a Turnover of Rs 30,947 Crore and a Net profit of Rs 1,419 Crore during FY15. “A total dividend of Rs.284 Crore, has been declared for 2014-15, which is 58% of the paid-up capital (including an interim dividend of 27%), maintaining its track record of paying dividends uninterruptedly since 1976-77,” he added.

Updating investors about the constraints in the sector Rao informed that though FY15 saw the highest power capacity addition in the country, however, the generation sector is still to come out from the stressful conditions, which have adversely affected the power sector development during last 3-4 years. “Major constraints like non-availability of long-term coal linkages to identified projects, inability to ramp up indigenous coal and gas production, rising prices of imported fuel, poor financial health of state discoms, land acquisition and issues related to environment clearances, etc. had been hampering the Sector,” he added.