BHEL profit rises 35 pc, but sales growth off mark

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), India’s biggest power equipment maker, fell the most in eight months after reporting the slowest sales growth in the year that started April 1.

The shares fell 4.4%, the most since May 20, to Rs 2,292.15 in Mumbai trading. Net income in the three months ended December 31 climbed 35% to Rs 1,070 crore ($233 million) and sales rose 18% to Rs 7,100 crore, the New Delhi-based company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday. “Net sales were below street estimates and that could have been one of the factors for the shares to decline,” Shruti Udeshi, an analyst with Finquest Securities Pvt, said from Mumbai. “The company hasn’t changed its sales target for the full year and we believe it can make up for the slower sales in the fourth quarter.”

The stock has gained 70% in the past year, trailing the 94% increase in the benchmark Sensitive Index. Rival Larsen & Toubro, India’s biggest engineering company, fell the most in more than six months after the company on Thursday reported its first sales decline in seven years and cut its revenue growth target. Bharat Heavy has forecast that sales may gain as much as 25% to more than Rs 33,600 crore in the year ending March. The company reported a 24% sales increase in the second quarter following a 29% growth in the first, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

ref:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/earnings/BHEL-profit-rises-35-pc-but-sales-growth-off-mark/articleshow/5486257.cms