6 of 7 defence firms carved out of OFB report profits in first six months

Six out of the seven defence companies, which were carved out of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), have reported provisional profits during the initial six months, according to the defence ministry.

Six out of the seven defence companies, which were carved out of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) on October 15 last year, have reported provisional profits during the initial six months of their operations, according to the defence ministry.

In a major reform initiative, the government had on June 16 last year approved a long-pending proposal to restructure the nearly 200-year-old OFB that operates 41 ammunition and defence equipment production facilities into seven separate corporate entities to improve its accountability, efficiency and competitiveness.

The seven defence companies were dedicated to the nation on October 15 last year.

"It is heartening to note that six out of the seven new defence companies have reported provisional profits during the initial six months of their business growth," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Twitter on Friday.

These companies are scaling new heights and contributing to India's defence manufacturing, he added.

In a statement, the defence ministry said Munitions India Limited, Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited, Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited, Troop Comforts Limited, India Optel Limited and Gliders India Limited have reported provisional profits of Rs 28 crore, Rs 33.09 crore, Rs 4.84 crore, Rs 26 crore, Rs 60.44 crore and Rs 1.32 crore, respectively.

Yantra India Limited has not reported provisional profits for the period from October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022, it mentioned, adding that it reported a loss of Rs 111.49 crore in this time period.

"An amount of Rs 2,765.95 crore has been released to the seven new companies during the current financial year for capital expenditure and equity," it stated.

Within the first six months, these new companies have achieved the turnover of more than Rs 8,400 crore, it noted.