BEL Set To Announce First Dividend For This Fiscal — All You Need To Know

Government-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is set to hold a board meeting on Mar. 5 to consider a potential interim dividend for its shareholders.

In a stock exchange filing on Feb. 25, the Bengaluru based public sector undertaking said: "Pursuant to Regulation 29 of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, we wish to inform you that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the company is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, the 5th of March, 2025, to consider, inter alia, the declaration of an interim dividend for the financial year 2024-25."

The filing did not mention any record date (ex date). If announced, this would mark the company's first interim dividend for the current financial year 2024-25 (FY25). In 2024, the firm rewarded its shareholders on three occasions. 

The aerospace and defence company reported a 53%  (year-on-year) increase in its net profit at Rs 1,311 crore for the quarter that ended in December. In quarter three, BEL posted a 38.7% YoY jump in revenue at Rs 5,771 crore, beating estimates.

Its Ebitda was up 55.7% to Rs 1,670 crore, compared to Rs 1,073 crore in the same period last year. The margin stood at 28.9%, up from 25.8% (the estimate was 23.10%). Net profit grew by 53% to Rs 1,311 crore, compared to Rs 856 crore.

BEL is a 'navratna' PSU under the defence ministry. It is tasked with building electronic products and systems for the Army, Navy and the Air Force. On Feb. 20, the company said that it bagged orders worth Rs 1,292 crore, including one from the defence ministry. In January, it received a Rs 561 crore order for satellite, fire control and radar technology, taking its total order book for the ongoing financial year to more than Rs 10,300 crore.

Shares of Bharat Electronics were trading 2.56% up at Rs 263.99 apiece around 1:15 p.m., while the Nifty 50 was down 0.27% at 22,058.45, pressured by Trump's tariff announcement for Canada, Mexico, and China.