Bharati Shipyard posts net loss of Rs 132.98 crore

Bharati Shipyard on Friday said that the company posted net loss to the tune of Rs 132.98 crore as against a net profit of Rs 1.6 crore in the October-December quarter.
Sales of the company meanwhile fell by more than 70% to to Rs 75 crore as against sales of Rs 259.2 crore in the year ago period.
Bharati's total expenditure for the period was more than 39% of the company's sales during the period. The fall in net sales come at a time when domestic shipbuilders led by ABG ShipyardBSE -0.15 % and Bharati Shipyard have been seeking a revival of the shipbuilding subsidy provided by the government.
The union government had cancelled the shipbuilding subsidy, a practice until 2007, and the shipping ministry has now made a renewed demand for the revival of the subsidy.
Indian Shipyards have been dependent on the defence ministry for shipbuilding contracts as the sector has not been able to tap fresh orders since the subsidy for the sector was withdrawn.
While Pipavav DefenceBSE -0.53 % and Larsen and ToubroBSE 0.12 % were allowed by Mazagon Dock to partner the company in the manufacturing of vessels required for the Indian navy's requirement, Bharati and ABG were not allowed.
Mazagon Dock, country's largest public sector shipbuilder has an order book in excess of Rs 90,000 crore and the private shipbuilders are expected to benefit from the partnership.
While Indian shipyards only contribute 0.1% of the global shipbuilding industry, shipyards in China, Japan and South Korea produce more than 75 % of the vessels manufactured globally.
Last year, lenders of Bharati had agreed to restructure more than Rs 5600 crore of its debt. The debt mounted largely due to the company's acquisition of Great OffshoreBSE 1.78 %, a leading offshore exploration major.
Source: Economic Times