Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) nosedived 8.5% on the NSE on Monday, on a day when the Nifty 50 index rose by 1.3%. Not without reason. On Saturday, the state-run engineering company announced its quarterly results, which were disappointing, yet again. The key highlights of the December quarter result include mounting operational losses, subdued order inflows and elevated receivables.
Bhel reported an Ebitda loss of about ₹180 crore owing to stretched working capital needs and its inability to absorb high fixed costs. Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. In the corresponding quarter of last year, Ebitda was ₹330 crore.
Further, order inflows in the December quarter declined by 35% year-on-year (y-o-y), while the total order backlog was flat at ₹1.067 trillion. While total receivables fell by ₹1,666 crore, it was at ₹34,805 crore at December-end. Of the total receivables, state players accounted for 47%, the Centre 34%, private players 12%, and exports accounted for the balance, the management said.
