JOIN USBharat Electronics Limited (BEL), on Tuesday, announced a provisional dip of 15.79 per cent in its net profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012 at Rs 725 crore as against Rs 861.46 crore in the previous fiscal.
The company’s operating profit at Rs 975 crore as against Rs 1,161.15 crore also saw a decline of 16.03 per cent drop. Likewise, the company also reported a 3.27 per cent dip in its sales turnover for fiscal at Rs 5,710 crore as against Rs 5,529.69 crore achieved in the previous fiscal.
The company had projected a growth of 12 per cent in turnover at Rs 6,200 crore for the year 2011-12. The company did not disclose fourth quarter numbers as its board of directors was yet to take on record the results though for fiscal year ended March 31, 2011 it had reported Rs 422.46 crore net profit.
Briefing reporters, Chairman & Managing Director Anil Kumar attributed the decline in net and operating profits to the low margins as also the product mix of the company during the fiscal besides delay orders from the defence ministry.
The company developed and supplied Tablet PC for the Ministry of Rural Development for its socio-economic and caste census at very low margins which hit its bottomline, he added.
The company’s margins declined to 10 per cent from about 15-16 per cent in the previous year in many of its contracts. However, the order book position of the company increased by 9 per cent to touch a level of Rs 25,748 crore during the year as against Rs 23,600 crore in the previous year.
The company, whose board will meet on Wednesday to ratify its accounts, said its exports (provisional) during the fiscal ended March 2012 stood at US$38.45 million as against US$41.53 million logged in the previous fiscal showing a decline of 8.3 per cent.
“The dip in exports was mainly due to an export order for Thales of France, which the Ministry of Defence did not consider it as an export order,” Kumar added.
The company is targeting revenue of $300 million to $400 million from defence offset business during the next three to four years, he said. The company has an export order of US$59.17 million as on April 1, 2012, which includes the offset order of US$27.5 million.
Last year the company had taken up a Rs 230 crore capital expenditure and this fiscal it has envisaged Rs 400 crore capital expenditure programme.