Bharat Electronics conferred Navratna status

Bharat Electronics Ltd has announced that the Company was formally conferred the Navratna status by the Finance Minister, Mr. P Chidambaram, at an investiture ceremony held at New Delhi on June 22, 2007.

The Company, the leading Indian defence PSU, manufactures a wide range of products in the areas of Military Communication, Radars, Naval Systems, Telecom & Broadcast, Electronic Warfare, Tank Electronics, Opto-electronics, Professional Electronic Components and Solar Photovoltaic Systems. The Company became a Mini Ratna Category I Company in February 2002 and has now been elevated to a Navratna based on its consistent performance.

The Company was started in 1954 to meet the defence electronics requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. Starting with a single Unit at Bangalore, the Company now has nine Units spread across the country. From a humble beginning, the Company has grown steadily over the years to register a CAGR of around 15% in the last 5 years. During 2006-07, the Company recorded a turnover of Rs 3960.38 crores (provisional), PAT of Rs 713.85 crores (provisional). 81% of the turnover accrued from products of indigenous design, which included BEL's own R&D efforts and its collaboration with DRDO labs. The Company spends nearly 5 per cent of its turnover on R&D. The Company is constantly innovating and coming out with new products to meet customers' requirements.

Mr. V V R Sastry, Chairman and Managing Director of the Company, says, "We are delighted. It is a recognition of the company's inherent strengths in research and development, manufacturing, quality and thrust on self-reliance. It is also a recognition of the company's ability to face global competition and become an international player."

"On the occasion of BEL formally being conferred Navratna status, we would like to thank all our stakeholders - the Ministry of Defence, customers, particularly the Armed Forces, employees, technology partners like DRDO, business associates, vendors and shareholders, without whose unstinting support we would not have reached this milestone," Mr Sastry reiterates.

The eligibility for considering a PSU for Navratna status is that it should be a Mini Ratna I, Schedule 'A' company and have obtained 'excellent or 'very good' MoU rating in three of the last five years and a composite performance score of 60 or above on various financial parameters for the last three years including Net Profit to Net Worth, Manpower Cost to Total Cost of Production, PBDIT to Capital Employed, PBIT to Turnover and Earning Per Share.

It is also appropriate to mention that the Company has been ranked first among mid-size aerospace / defence companies worldwide by Aviation Week and Space Technology for 2004 and 2005. The Company was named Star PSU for 2004-05.

By becoming a Navratna PSU, the Company will have greater financial and operational autonomy. The Company looks forward to leverage this for further business growth and diversification.

Source : Equity Bulls

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