BHEL shares surge 3%; hit 52-week high on deal with CMTI

Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) surged as much as 2.7% apiece on the BSE, after the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI) for the development of hydrogen value chain and IIoT solutions for the predictive maintenance of machines and manufacturing processes.

The scrip opened higher at ₹184, up 1.5% as against the previous closing price of ₹181.25. At 12:30 pm, the share price of the company was trading 0.83% higher at ₹182.75. This is in line with the broader BSE Sensex, which was trading 485.72 points or 0.70% higher at 71,008. The company hit a 52-week low of ₹66.30 on February 27 this year. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹63,634.71 crore with more than 6.78 lakh shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 25.69 lakh shares.

"Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), an autonomous Institution under the administrative control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Govt. of India; have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration on technology development in the areas of Hydrogen value chain and IIoT solutions for predictive maintenance of machines & manufacturing processes," the company says in a regulatory filing.

The development comes a month after the state-run company bagged an order worth ₹2,956 crore from the ministry of defence to procure super rapid gun mount (SRGM) and accessories for the Indian Navy. The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with Electrite de France S.A. France (EDF), which is the largest nuclear operator globally to maximise the local content of the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant Project to be established by NPCIL in India.

In the July to September quarter of FY24, the state-run company reported a net loss of ₹238.12 crore as against a profit of ₹12.10 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company’s net income in the September quarter witnessed a decline of 2.07% to ₹5,305.38 crore as against ₹5,418.74 crore in the same period last year.

Analysts at ICICI Securities had earlier said with the domestic thrust towards manufacturing and the company’s efforts towards improving its balance sheet, BHEL’s business can stage a strong turnaround given its strong technical track record. "It is taking cost-control measures and working on reducing receivables, with an increased focus on cashflow," the brokerage firm said.

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