State-run engineering firm Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) on Friday posted a fiscal first quarter loss at Rs 343.89 crore, widening from Rs 187.99 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year, primarily due to higher expenses. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 5003.43 crore, up 7.1 per cent as against Rs 4672 crore during the first quarter of FY23. The company EBITDA stood at Rs 1037.4 crore, up 14.9 per cent on-year.
BHEL posted a total income during the quarter at Rs 5117.20 crore, up 7.9 per cent as against Rs 4742.28 crore during the same period a year earlier. The company, however, recorded total expenses during the period at Rs 5595.47 crore, up 11.8 per cent in comparison to Rs 5006.50 crore during Q1FY23.
BHEL’s Q1 performance across segments
The company’s power business segment posted a revenue of Rs 3819.16 crore during the quarter as against Rs 3526.20 crore during a year-ago period. BHEL’s industry segment, meanwhile, clocked a revenue at Rs 999.21 crore in comparison to Rs 923.29 crore during Q1FY23.
BHEL had, earlier in May, posted its fourth quarter earnings for FY23 wherein it had reported a 34.2 per cent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a rise in total expenses despite the surging power demand in the country. Total expenses had risen by 5.4 per cent due to a sharp rise in input costs led by raw materials that had gone up 23.9 per cent year-on-year.
BHEL benefits from the rising demand of electricity in the country as, according to the company’s data, it has nearly 57 per cent share in India’s total coal-based power generation. However, the government plans to stop building new coal projects to fight climate change,as it aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2070.