Bharat Elec Up On War Prospects

Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), the public sector defence equipment major, bucked the overall weak sentiment on the bourses and witnessed hectic activity today.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the stock witnessed an intra-day high of 3.5 per cent at Rs 214.40 and settled at Rs 208.10. More than 15.96 lakh shares were traded on the bourse.

On the National Stock Exchange, 24.37 lakh shares were traded. A dealer with a domestic brokerage house said, "Several brokerage houses have started accumulating the stock on value unlocking at the time of divestment."

In a recent report, local brokerage Enam Securities had reiterated a buy on the stock. Meanwhile, analysts said that BEL, being a leading defence equipment supplier, will be a big beneficiary from the uncertainty over the India-Pakistan relationship. The company derives over 70 per cent of its revenues from the defence sector.

BEL has earned the distinction of becoming the first defense public sector unit to acquire operational status of "Mini ratna category-I". The government is seeking to make the company efficient and competitive by granting enhanced autonomy and delegation of powers.

BEL recently announced that it has a healthy order book position of over Rs 4,000 crore, an all-time high for the company. For the quarter ended March 2002, BEL posted a 29 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 125.69 crore compared with Rs 97.49 crore in the corresponding period last year.

Total income increased by 1.4 per cent to Rs 1,018.77 crore in the quarter ended March 2002. For the year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 187.79 crore (Rs 155.21 crore) on a total income of Rs 1,975.64 crore (Rs 1,767.77 crore).