The Hindu Business Line : BGR Energy’s net doubles to Rs 84 cr

First results: Mr B.G. Raghupathy, Chairman and Managing Director, BGR Energy Systems Ltd, and Mr Heinrich Bohmer, Independent Director, at a press conference in Chennai on Thursday. —

Our Bureau

Chennai, June 12 Chennai-based BGR Energy Systems Ltd on Thursday declared its first annual performance results after its initial public offering. The company’s net profit for 2007-08 has more than doubled to Rs 84.44 crore from Rs 39.19 crore for the previous year.

BGR is in two business segments — supply of systems and equipment and undertaking turn-key engineering project contracts. In the ‘systems and equipment business’, the company designs and manufactures a range of equipment for power, oil and gas, and petrochemical industries. For power projects, it produces ‘balance of plant’, which is basically all that is needed in a power project other than the boiler, turbine and generator.

In the ‘contract segment’, BGR Energy is an ‘engineering, procurement and construction’ contractor for, mainly, power projects.

For 2007-08, BGR Energy’s turnover was Rs 1,505 crore against Rs 775 crore for last year. The company’s board has recommended a dividend of Rs 2 a share (20 per cent).

Addressing a press conference here, the Chairman and Managing Director, Mr B. G. Raghupathy, said that the company has orders on hand worth Rs 3,200 crore, most of which would be executed in the current year.

He said that going by the bids the company has made, BGR expects to book further orders worth Rs 9,000 crore in the current year. Answering a question, he said that the high figure need not raise any eyebrows because the power projects business is booming.

In December 2007, the company had raised Rs 338 crore through its IPO. The company’s Director-Finance, Mr S. Rathinam, said that the entire money was “intact” waiting to be deployed in expansion and for paying margins to banks to raise working capital.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, BGR’s share closed at Rs 287.05, against the previous close of Rs 286.40.

Cuddalore Power Co

Mr Raghupathy is also the Managing Director of Cuddalore Power Company Ltd, a company he helped promote. Cuddalore Power is putting up a 1,320 MW power plant about 18 km south of Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, at a cost of around Rs 6,000 crore. There will be two (supercritical) units of 660 MW.

He said that the land (600 acres) has been acquired and environmental clearances obtained. Coal supply agreement is in place with a supplier from Indonesia. The company has just tendered out for EPC contractors. BHEL, Shanghai Electric and a few companies have responded to the tenders, he said.