Bses Net Up By 4.74% To Rs 321.4 Cr

Power company BSES's net profit has increased by 4.74 per cent to Rs 321.37 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001, compared with Rs 306.83 crore in the previous fiscal.

The rise in the net was mainly due to a sharp decline in the tax burden, which fell by 67.74 per cent to Rs 29.04 crore from Rs 90.03 crore.

Profit before tax of the company declined by 11.70 per cent to Rs 350.41 crore from Rs 396.85 crore, while the gross fell by 5.7 per cent to Rs 547.22 crore from Rs 580.32 crore.

The board of directors of the company has stepped up the dividend to 40 per cent from 37 per cent.

The dramatic decline in the tax burden has been attributed to the tax exemptions claims under Section 1A of the Income Tax Act which is applicable for power companies.

BSES set up a 500 mw power station at Dahanu in Maharashtra for which it has begun claiming tax exemptions for a bloc of 5 years starting last fiscal.

R V Shahi, chairman and managing director of BSES, said: "This is basically due to the reduction in tariff for high-tension consumers who constitute the bulk of our consumer base. This resulted in a lower income of Rs 79 crore."

Turnover of the company rose by 13 per cent to Rs 2,763.10 crore from Rs 2,429.63 crore, while the expenditure increased by 23.10 per cent to Rs 2,160.54 crore from Rs 1,755.07 crore.

Interest charges declined by 41.27 per cent to Rs 55.34 crore from Rs 94.24 crore and depreciation charges increased by 7.27 per cent to Rs 196.81 crore from Rs 183.47 crore.

The company has not made any provision for the Rs 54-crore standby charges to be paid to Tata Power.

In the notes to the accounts, it said, "The company has not acknowledged this liability and hence no provision has been made towards it."

The company has been feuding over the exact amount of the stand-by charges to be paid to Tata Power.

Currently, the issue is before the state power regulator Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission which is yet to deliver a final verdict.