BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian heavy equipment maker BEML reported a modest rise in third-quarter pre-tax profit on Thursday, weighed down by increased input costs.
The state-owned company reported a consolidated profit before tax of 668.5 million rupees ($8.1 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, up nearly 1% year-on-year.
Global steel prices were elevated amid high demand, hurting companies which manufacture machinery and equipment, as steel is a key component in their making.
As a result, BEML's raw material costs surged almost 20%, driving up total expenses by 4% to 10.14 billion rupees.
The company also had tax expenses amounting to 186.5 million rupees, which led to its net profit dropping 27% from last year.
It did report any tax expenses in the December-quarter last year.
Companies like BEML benefitted from the Indian government's push for higher capital expenditure in its last full budget in February 2023, before the next general election in this year.
Still, a delay in the company's Mumbai metro rail order hurt the company's revenue, analysts said.
Its revenue climbed a modest 1% to 10.47 billion rupees. BEML did not specify how much of it comes from each segment.
Rival railways coach-maker Jupiter Wagons also reported a third-quarter profit climb. BEML's peers in the defense equipment manufacturing space Zen Technologies and Bharat Dynamics also posted profit rises.
Profits for the three companies climbed between 61% and three-fold.
($1 = 82.9725 Indian rupees)