BEL ranks 58th in 'Top 100 Defence Companies'

Bangalore, Aug 8 (UNI) Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), which has been accorded the Navaratna status by the Government of India recently, has been ranked 58th in the list of 'Top 100 Defence Companies in the World' by the US based 'Defence News Magazine' for 2007.

The Company had significantly improved its position from 76th rank last year, BEL said in a release here today. The ratings were given based on the Company's defence revenue alone. Sales to the defence segment constituted 76 per cent of BEL's turnover of Rs 3960.38 crore (provisional) during 2006-07, which alone had been considered for the ranking.

BEL was one among the two Indian companies in the Top 100 List, which figures the leading defence manufacturers from across the globe. HAL, which also received the Navaratna status recently was ranked 34.

BEL had been ranked first among medium sized Aerospace/Defence companies worldwide, for two consecutive years, 2004 and 2005, by the McGraw Hill Publication 'Aviation Week and Space Technology.' Commenting on the ranking, BEL Chairman and Managing Director V V R Sastry said ''the ranking is a testimony to our commitment to our vision to be a world-class enterprise in professional electronics.

Quality, technology and innovation are the engines of growth for BEL.'' BEL had recorded a 12 per cent increase in turnover during 2006-07 from the previous year's turnover of Rs 3,536 crore. The estimated Profit Before Tax was Rs 1,041.63 crore, as against the previous year's figure of Rs 855.26 crore, an increase of 22 per cent. BEL had grown at a CAGR of 15 per cent during the last five years.

BEL plans to achieve billion dollar turnover during this financial year, the release said.

UNI