BEML Plans To Come Up With Follow-On Issue In June

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd has all set for its public issue to mobilize Rs 440 crore by offloading 49 lakh shares for the first half of June this year. According to the source, the fund raised from the follow-on issue will be used mainly for the modernisation and expansion plans of its metro coach production infrastructure at Bangalore. Internal accruals would to a degree fund the expansion - Rs 230 crore for metro infrastructure and Rs 150 crore for modern machinery. The plan is to raise the output to around 300 coaches a year to meet the estimated demand for 1,000 coaches in a couple of years as many States have announced metro projects. Metro and rail coach business is around 10-15 per cent of the turnover; mining and construction equipment around 55 per cent; and 35-40 per cent is from defence orders. Currently, the Government of India holds 61.23 per cent of the shares in BEML; UTI, banks and FIs hold 23.12 per cent; and non-institutional investors 15.65 per cent. At present, around 100 employees are opting to exit each year and this number may rise. A Rs 25-crore captive wind energy project is being planned at Chitradurga through a turnkey contract with Suzlon.