REC net jumps 48 per cent to a record Rs1,274 crore; to raise Rs23,000 crore

Navratna public sector unit Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has reported a 47.75 per cent rise in its net profit for the year 2008-09 at Rs1,273.51 crore against Rs861.93 crore in the previous year.  Gross profit of the corporation stood at Rs1,922.36 crore against Rs1,315.17 crore in the previous year.

REC said it would also raise about Rs23,000 crore from domestic/international market using various instruments, as a means to support its business operations, a govern mt press release said.

Business operations of the company in terms of disbursement grew at a healthy 36.8 per cent to Rs22,309 crore from Rs16,304 crore in the previous year.

The company's income increased to Rs4,757.17 crore in 2008-09 from Rs3,378.22 crore. The company declared a dividend of Rs4.50 for each share of Rs10, which includes an interim dividend of Rs2 per share announced earlier. Net NPAs of the company stood at Rs20.88 crore for the financial year 2008-09, down from Rs234.44 crore in the previous year reducing it to a paltry 0.04 per cent which is a significant improvement.

The board of directors of the company considered and adopted the results of the company along with audited accounts for the year closing 31 March 2009 at its meeting today. 
REC, a Navratna PSU, is under the administrative control of the ministry of power. The corporation has been providing critical funding support to various power projects in generation, transmission and distribution areas thus enabling them to augment the much needed capacity.

Till date REC has been able to extend cumulatively a sum of Rs220,744 crore by way of sanctions of which Rs97,552 crore has already been disbursed to various power projects across the country.

With a mandate to support generation projects, REC has extended financial support to almost all major projects, including ultra mega power projects being implemented to raise generation capacity in the country.

REC has also been the nodal agency for the flagship project like the `Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana', which aims at electrifying 1.15 lakh villages across the country. Electrification work has been completed in nearly 62,000 villages already, while necessary work is in progress to complete the electrification of balance villages. Under this scheme nearly 60 lakh rural families living below the poverty line have been given free electricity connections, the government release noted.