India’s BEML Ltd., a state-owned heavy equipment maker, posted a more than 18% increase in fourth-quarter profit as input costs declined and expenses dipped. Consolidated profit for the three months ended March 31 climbed to 1.58 billion rupees ($19.12 million) from 1.33 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said in an exchange filing, as net profit margin for the quarter expanded to 11.36% from 7.92% in the previous year.
The drop in costs associated with raw materials – a near-25% dip – was the primary factor in the lowered expenses. BEML’s lower total expenses of 11.29 billion rupees also somewhat offset the 17.6% decrease in consolidated revenue from operations of 13.88 billion rupees, which was the result of a slowdown in project realisation. Also contributing to the drop in revenue was the decline in BEML’s order book to 85.70 billion rupees, a 1.6% decrease from the previous quarter due to intense competition.
Founded in 1964, BEML is a multi-technology conglomerate that produces and supplies a wide range of products and services to several sectors including defence, mining, railway and metro, aerospace, etc. It focusses on modernising and enabling domestic/international production of key components and sub-systems. Its Chairman and Managing Director is Deepak Kumar Hota and he is responsible for leading the company into a future of sustainable growth.
The company announced a 5-rupee per share dividend to its shareholders. To conclude, the drop in expenses coupled with the slight decline in revenue, enabled BEML to show an impressive profit growth despite the slowdown in orders.
