BANGALORE: Riding on the back of major orders from the Indian armed forces, Bharat Electronincs Ltd (BEL) announced a provisional turnover of Rs. 3,960.38 crore for 2006-07, up 12 per cent from the previous fiscal. The estimated profit before tax is Rs. 1,041.63 crore as compared to Rs. 855.26 crore, a 22 per cent jump. The provisional profit after tax is Rs. 713.85 crore against Rs. 583.01 crore. Exports amounted to $11.6 million.

V. V. R. Sastry, Chairman and Managing Director, told reporters here on Tuesday that an interim dividend of 40 per cent had already been declared while the final dividend and financial figures were to be approved by the end of this month by the board of directors.

BEL's sales to the defence sector constituted 76 per cent of the total and civilian segment, 24 per cent; a similar ratio is to be maintained this year."The order book position, as on April 1, is around Rs. 9,000 crore against Rs. 6,600 crore," Mr. Sastry said.

Besides several products designed or upgraded for the armed forces, BEL expects major increase in revenues this year, thanks to the `offset clause' introduced by the government for defence procurement contracts. "We are already in talks with some overseas aerospace majors like Boeing and Lockheed Martin and the arrangements may involve joint manufacturing; agreements are being finalised," Mr. Sastry said.

Products related to electronic warfare, including early radar warning systems, continue to be the thrust area of R&D. It had already won contracts from countries in Africa and Southeast Asia for communication equipment and thermal imaging systems.

New initiative

A new initiative by BEL is the integrated air command and control system for the Indian Air Force with real time data generated for air surveillance and tactical actions. This will enable the IAF become network centric. A new product of strategic importance is a Weapon Locating Radar (WLR), now undergoing trials with the armed forces.

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