India's BHEL misses third-quarter profit view on higher expenses

Bharat Heavy Electricals

28/01/2025 14:21

Jan 28 (Reuters) - India's Bharat Heavy Electricals
(BHEL)  BHEL.NS  reported third-quarter profit below estimates
on Tuesday as a surge in expenses outweighed a modest rise in
power demand. 
    The power and industrial equipment manufacturer reported a
net profit of 1.25 billion rupees ($14.5 million) for the three
months ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of 2.13 billion rupees
a year earlier. 
    Analysts, on average, had estimated a profit of 1.68 billion
rupees, as per data compiled by LSEG. 
    BHEL's total expenses surged 31% to 72.25 billion rupees,
owing to a 22% rise in input costs. It also incurred 9.07
billion rupees worth of "other expenses", without specifying
details. 
    Meanwhile, domestic power generation rose in the
October-December quarter, although it grew only 3% compared to
12% a year earlier. Power growth slowed down in the latter half
of 2024, Reuters reported earlier this month.
    The slowdown in power generation comes in line with the
country's manufacturing activity growth, which remained tepid
for two of the three months in the period but grew on a
year-on-year basis. 
    Revenue from operations jumped nearly 32% to 72.77 billion
rupees in the quarter, owing to a 32% rise in revenue from the
power segment. 
    BHEL is the first among its peers to report quarterly
results, with larger rival Tata Power  TTPW.NS  set to post
quarterly earnings next month. 


($1 = 86.5150 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
 ((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com; +918447554364;))