Some stand tall, others fall

Hidden among the large number of PSUs are quite a few which have been performing well, but have never come into the limelight. At the same time, there are cases which are clearly a drain on the exchequer. The ET-CMIE Survey of PSUs offers some interesting insights into the realm of the unknown. Take the case of Northern Coalfields, which is into coal mining. It declared a profit of Rs 703 crore for 2000-01 on revenues of Rs 2,893 crore. It paid out a dividend of Rs 336 crore to the government and has a net worth which is much higher than that of Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers or Container Corporation. Oil India, another relatively unkown oil and natural gas company, posted a profit of Rs 467 crore on sales of Rs 2,200 crore for 2001. It is not only bikes, Bicycles too seem to be doing well. There is National Bicycle Corporation, whose sales have grown almost 1000% to Rs 26.5 crore from just Rs 2.4 crore in 2000. Talk of names and there is a PSU called Powerplant Performance Improvement. Its revenues grew 200% to Rs 175 crore in 2001 from Rs 57 crore in 2000. Coming to profits, you have Nuclear Power Corporation of India, which has managed to grow ten times in terms of net profit. Its net profit rose from Rs 85 crore in 2000 to Rs 825 crore in 2001, and the company paid out a dividend of Rs 179 crore. North Eastern Electric Power Corporation also saw a 321% jump in profits to Rs 118 crore in 2001. Similarly, the profits of Industrial Investment Bank of India and Hindustan Paper, more than doubled in 2001. There are a few cases of turnarounds as well. For instance, Electronic Corporation posted a profit of Rs 17 crore compared to a loss of Rs 1.7 crore in 2000. Engineering Projects, too, posted a profit of Rs 19.5 crore as against a net loss of Rs 48.5 crore in the previous year. Other turnaround cases are that of HMT, Braithwaite & Co, Indfund Management and Bharat Heavy Plate. On the other side of the spectrum, we have several hidden entities making heavy losses. Take the case of Bharat Gold Mines. The company had a sales of Rs 57 crore for 2001 with a net loss of Rs 55 crore. Then you have Hindustan Fertiliser with a sales of Rs 120 crore and a net loss of Rs 767 crore. For some PSUs, the situation has even worsened in 2001. Central Coalfields sank deeper into the red, posting a net loss of Rs 793 crore in 2001 compared to a net loss of Rs 121 crore in 2000. The company is, today, sitting on accumulated losses of almost Rs 1,000 crore. Metallurgical and Engg. Consultants, too, had a net loss of Rs 51 crore in 2001 as against a net loss of Rs 20 crore in 2000. Similarly, Heavy Engineering Corp. and Bharat Coking Coal have seen their losses double over the last one year. The latter is sitting on accumulated losses of Rs 4,065 crore. There are many cases of PSUs turning loss-making after posting profits in the previous year. Some of them are Paradeep Phosphates, Andrew Yule, Hindustan Steel Plates, Airline Allied Services, National Small Ind Corp, Central Mine Planning, Cotton Corp, Dena Bank, IFCI, Indian Airlines, Bongaigon Refineries, Hindustan Shipyard and Mazagon Dock. The worst case is that of Airline Allied Services which posted a loss of Rs 71 crore, as against a profit of Rs 1 crore in 2000. Hindustan Steel Plates recorded a loss of Rs 172.5 crore in 2001 compared to a handsome profit of Rs 851 crore in 2000. Related Reports: Â Central units: Many heroes in the making Â Â The disinvestment saga Â Â State units: The bottomless pit Â

Some stand tall, others fall

Hidden among the large number of PSUs are quite a few which have been performing well, but have never come into the limelight. At the same time, there are cases which are clearly a drain on the exchequer. The ET-CMIE Survey of PSUs offers some int...

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