Tuesday, November 19, 2013

BHEL bags Rs 1,300 cr NTPC contract

State-run BHEL today said it has bagged a Rs 1,300 crore order from NTPC for supplying equipment to the electricity generator's Unchahar plant in Uttar Pradesh besides installation work. "BHEL has bagged main plant package contract for 500 MW thermal power plant of NTPC," the company said in a statement. The Rs 1,300 crore order includes supply and installation of the main plant package for the upcoming 500 MW Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Project in UP. The order has been received from NTPC BHEL Power Projects Private Limited (NBPPL), a joint venture between NTPC and BHEL, the statement said. BHEL's scope of work in the contract envisages design, engineering, manufacture, supply and erection and commissioning of Steam Generator, Steam Turbine Generator and their auxiliaries. It also includes Electrics and Switchyard with associated Civil Works along with Controls & Instrumentation (C&I). On commissioning of the unit, 12 million units of electricity will be added to the grid, every day. The key equipment for the project will be manufactured at BHEL's Trichy, Ranipet, Haridwar, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Bhopal Plants, while the company's Power Sector Northern Region will be responsible for erection and commissioning of the equipment. more at: http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/bhel-bags-rs-1-300-cr-ntpc-contract-113111900536_1.html

Saturday, November 16, 2013

BHEL ‘defers’ interviews, political pressure alleged

The Ramachandrapuram unit of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has reportedly postponed the interviews for artisan posts scheduled for November 25, bowing to the pressure by political parties and agitators. Though the BHEL management has not confirmed the postponement, it admitted that some political leaders met them and requested for temporary deferment of the interviews. The BHEL invited applications for the recruitment of 800 artisans in different wings and a written test was held on November 10 on its premises. About 37,000 aspirants appeared for the test out of the total 40,000 applicants. Quota tangle However, the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) and some of the Congress leaders demanded that 80 per cent of the recruitment be done through local exchanges, leaving the remaining 20 per cent in open category. TRS Deputy Floor Leader in the Assembly T. Harish Rao, Congress MLC and district Congress Committee (DCC) president V. Bhoopal Reddy, BJP former MLA K. Satyanarayana and corporator Pushpa Nagesh Yadav met the BHEL officials and submitted a representation, urging them deferment of the interviews and asked them to discuss the issue with their corporate office. The BHEL management said to have promised the leaders that it would take up the issue with the ministry concerned. Fair deal sought for locals Earlier in the day, TRS cadres led by Mr. Harish Rao, Mr. Bhoopal Reddy and Mr. Satyananarayana staged a dharna before the BHEL, alleging that the Union government had failed in providing jobs for those who had lost their land to the industry. They also demanded that Medak people get a lion’s share in the jobs as the industry is located here. ref: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/bhel-defers-interviews-political-pressure-alleged/article5360475.ece

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Bhel’s Tiruchi vendors prepare to look beyond their only customer

A cluster of about 300 engineering units in Tiruchi, which for nearly four decades has almost entirely depended on Bharat Heavy Electricals LtdBSE 1.37 % for orders, is being forced by the problems facing its only customer to seek out new business opportunities for the first time. "All along, business was coming to our doorstep," said M Srinivasan, president of BhelBSE 1.37 % Small and Medium Industries Association, or Bhelsia, as this cluster of fabrication and machining shops is called. Not anymore. Bhel doesn't dominate the market for boilers and turbines as it once used to. The economic slowdown and the problems in the power sector haven't helped matters. Bhel's latest results, for Q2, in a pointer to its weak run. All its key metrics are down: order backlog by 16%, revenues 15% and profit after tax 64%. This has reflected in the fortunes of Tuvakudi, an area outside Tiruchi where Bhelsia is based out of. With the public sector company's order pipeline drying, Srinivasan said some of the smaller vendors have shut shop. Most others, he said, believe it may never get back to the good old days again. Three years ago, Bhel is said to have outsourced some 2.5 lakh tonnes of fabrication work to all its vendors, including those in Tiruchi. The projection given by Bhel then was that this would touch 7.5 lakh tonnes by 2015. Actually, the volumes have now fallen to 2 lakh tonnes. Bhel couldn't be reached for comments. more at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/indl-goods/svs/engineering/bhels-tiruchi-vendors-prepare-to-look-beyond-their-only-customer/articleshow/25685191.cms

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Ryots seek regular jobs in BHEL unit

Farmers, who had given their lands to the BHEL, stage a protest at Ranipet demanding employment in the organisation on Monday. Sources said the BHEL in 1974 acquired the lands of 124 farmers in the area for the construction of office buildings at its Ranipet unit. During that time, the BHEL administration reportedly entered into an agreement assuring to provide job to one member of every farmer’s family, who gave land to the Central public sector undertaking. Following this, 109 persons, out of the total 124, were absorbed for technical positions in the unit. For the remaining 15 persons, who were found to be under qualified (qualified less than class 8), the BHEL administration planned to provide non-technical job on contract basis. Not convinced with the PSU’s offer, the family members of the 15 persons resorted to protests in the past demanding the BHEL to provide a technical job with regular pay. On Monday, the family members launched a fast-unto-death protest near the entrance of the Ranipet unit. SIPCOT police arrived at the spot and dispersed them. Following this, the members withdrew their protest. ref: http://newindianexpress.com/states/tamil_nadu/Ryots-seek-regular-jobs-in-BHEL-unit/2013/11/12/article1885399.ece

Sunday, November 10, 2013

BHEL in talks with for tie-up in CBFC boiler technology

France's Alstom and Switzerland-based Foster Wheeler AG are frontrunners for a possible partnership with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in the circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) boiler segment. This is a technology where the state-owned equipment firm is not considered as strong as competitors in the domestic market such as Thermax and ThyssenKrupp India. With distinct commercial advantages in the long run and its credentials as a clean carbon platform, CFBC boilers are expected to be increasingly used for power generation as well as for industrial applications in the future, with a projected domestic market potential of around 8,000 MW per annum. BHEL officials indicated that the company was in various stages of talks with both Alstom and Foster Wheeler for a partnership in the large CFBC boiler segment. Unlike in the case of coal that is powdered, pulverised and then burnt in a furnace, the CFBC boilers have the advantage of fuel flexibility. These boilers can also be operated with non-coal fuel options such as lignite, bagasse and straw. The advantage accruing from clean-coal platform will be by way of fuel flexibility to burn a variety of fuels — coal, lignite, coal washery rejects, biomass and waste materials — at a low combustion temperature. more at: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bhel-in-talks-with-for-tieup-in-cbfc-boiler-technology/1193434/

Friday, November 8, 2013

BHEL may bag UMPP order from Odisha & TN

video news at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-now/corporate/bhel-may-bag-umpp-order-from-odisha-tn/videoshow/25449769.cms

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

BHEL's worries are not over yet

Even as Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL)’s recent share price movement (up 38 per cent since August-end) is reflecting the Street’s hope of a recovery, the company continues to give a disappointing performance. On Wednesday, BHEL reported a 64 per cent year-on-year fall in net profit for the September quarter, led by a 1,359-basis-point drop in operating margins to a mere 4.7 per cent. Lower execution and higher fixed cost, as well as component of low margin orders have hurt margins. Further, falling order book, losses in the industrial segment and the merged company, Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels, have concerned the Street as reflected in its share prices, which fell 1.3 per cent on Wednesday to Rs 140.45. "Against the backdrop of poor results, I do not think there is reason to buy shares at these prices. Also, considering the prevailing situation in the industry, there are no major positive triggers. BHEL can fall to Rs 115-125 levels, and then one can consider buying it," said Rabindra Nath Nayak of SBICAP Securities. September quarter sales fell 15.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 8,819 crore due to slow moving orders in the overall order book and slow execution on account of delays from the client and extended payments cycles. While this was largely known and sales came along expectations, the biggest disappointment came from net profits, far below expectations of Rs 798 crore. more at: http://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/bhel-s-worries-are-not-over-yet-113110601017_1.html

Monday, November 4, 2013

With BHEL first-half orders down to a fifth of target, topline in trouble

After a sharp drop in its order book position in the last couple of years owing to delayed power projects, public sector Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) was expecting a rebound this fiscal banking on an expected pick-up in the power sector, but that was not to be. The capital goods manufacturer has booked fresh orders worth just Rs 4,470 crore or 22.44% of the target of Rs 19,920 crore during the first six months of the current fiscal. This means that BHEL’s targeted order booking of Rs 54,714 crore (including non-power business) for FY14 would be missed by a wide margin and in all probability new orders this fiscal could be even less than last year’s Rs 31,650 crore. The company, which reported a halving of net profit to R465 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal on a 24% drop in net sales to Rs 6,353 crore, has internally kept its top-line target for this fiscal at Rs 47,000 crore, less than last year’s achievement of R50,156 crore and the Rs 49,510 crore clocked in FY12. This is an unprecedented move as over the years, BHEL has consistently posted an increase in turnover in absolute terms. more at: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/with-bhel-firsthalf-orders-down-to-a-fifth-of-target-topline-in-trouble/1190942

Friday, November 1, 2013

BHEL has made about 700 wheels for temple chariots in Tamil Nadu in over 45 years

For long now, energy utilities have been customers of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for its boilers and turbines. And Tamil Nadu has been no exception. But here's an unlikely association — a very old one but unknown to many — between BHELBSE 1.77 % and the Tamil Nadu department that oversees nearly 40,000 temples: BHEL makes special steel wheels for temple chariots or cars in Tamil Nadu, an order book that's only becoming fatter every year. By the end of December, some 60 wheels will be delivered by BHEL to various temples in the state. Till date, in an association dating back nearly four-and-a-half decades, BHEL has made about 700 wheels for temple chariots in Tamil Nadu, over 300 of these in the last five years alone. "We are replacing wooden car wheels with steel wheels," says P Dhanapal, commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department, in charge of the management of Hindu temples in the state. ref: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/bhel-has-made-about-700-wheels-for-temple-chariots-in-tamil-nadu-in-over-45-years/articleshow/25079898.cms