BHEL bags 'ICWAI National Award'

New Delhi, July 3: The public sector Navratna engineering and manufacturing enterprise, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has been conferred the 'ICWAI National Award for Excellence in Cost Management 2006.' The company has been awarded this recognition for the second successive year, having earlier won the award in the year 2005.

Instituted in the year 2003, by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, the awards are presented annually to corporate entities.

An independent jury headed by the former Chief Justice of India, J S Verma selected BHEL's Hyderabad Unit for the 2006 Award.

The award was presented by the Minister for Corporate Affairs Prem Chand Gupta to BHEL Director (Finance) C S Verma at a function here.

BHEL has maintained its track record of earning profits and paying dividends for over three decades without a break. Notably, major financial parameters like turnover and orders inflow have doubled in three years and Profit Before Tax and Net Profit in just two years.

The company recorded an all-time high turnover of Rs 18,739 crore, notching a growth of more than 29 per cent over the previous year. Net profit also soared by nearly 44 per cent to Rs 2,415 crore. Consequently, an enhanced equity dividend of 185 per cent - the highest so far (including interim dividend of 125 per cent paid earlier), as well as an issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1 have been declared by the company.

BHEL recorded a surge in Economic Value Addition (EVA), which catapulted to Rs 1,532 crore in 2006-07 from Rs 1,079 crore in the year.

Spurred by the strong and consistent growth achieved in the last few years, BHEL has now set its sights on becoming a 10 billion dollar company by 2012.

The company has unveiled a 'Strategic Plan 2012' that will enable it grow at a 20 per cent Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) and achieve a turnover of 10 billion dollar by 2011-12, two and a half times its present turnover of FOUR Billion dollar.

BHEL has been committed to the nation's power development programme and has reaffirmed its commitment to the Indian power sector by equipping itself for the future, by way of technology, facilities and trained manpower to meet the country's power forecast for the 11th Plan and beyond, a BHEL statement said here today.

UNI