By IANS
Bangalore : The Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) posted a sales turnover of Rs.41.14 billion ($1.02 billion) in 2007-08, registering a marginal increase of four percent from the previous fiscal figure of Rs.39.5 billion, the state-run defence enterprise said here Tuesday.
According to the un-audited, provisional figures released to the stock exchanges, BEL’s profit before tax rose to Rs 11.09 billion during the year under review, posting a modest growth of 5.1 percent from Rs.10.52 billion in the previous fiscal.
Exports, however, shot up by 32 percent to $15.4 million from $11.6 despite rupee appreciation during the last 12 months.
The order book for the current fiscal (2008-09) is about Rs.94.5 billion as on April 1.
The city-based BEL manufactures electronic systems, including radars for the Indian armed forces and the civilian market. Its other products include electronic warfare systems, naval systems opto-electronic sensors and tank electronics.
“Among the orders executed during the last fiscal were advanced land navigation system for tanks, command control system for the artillery wing of the army, central acquisition radar for the air force, passive night vision device and Doppler weather radar for prediction of meteorological data,” the company said in a statement.
As in the case of defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), BEL also suffered production delays due to non-availability of raw materials from its overseas suppliers for executing orders in time. As a result, about 57 percent of its total revenue was accrued in the fourth quarter (January-March) of the fiscal.