BSES proved the biggest gainer in the Sensex in morning trades as the market reckons that the Reliance group power utility's results will be impressive.

By 11:15 IST, BSES edged up 2.14% to Rs 224. Around 3,725 BSES shares changed hands on BSE till then.

BSES is scheduled to unveil its fourth quarter and full year results ended 31 March 2003 on Monday. For Q4, analysts expect BSES' net profit to grow 38-164% to Rs 44-84 crore on net sales of Rs 684-697 crore (Rs 6.84-6.97 billion), up15-17%.

The scrip has been enjoying sustained interest over the last few sessions following a series of positive developments, particularly, the passage of the Electricity Bill in Parliament. The bill pushes power sector reforms in three radical ways. It makes the continued existence of bundled SEBs conditional on occurrence of centre, mandates open access in distribution apart from allowing parallel distribution systems to be set up where required and extends the scope of captive generation to cooperative groups and associates.

Analysts say the Electricity Bill will see an improvement in the health of State Electricity Boards. The Electricity Bill is a comprehensive legislation putting together all legislative measures required to push the power sector onto a trajectory of sound commercial growth. The bill takes into account the move towards a competitive scenario, where regulators on the one hand and private power utilities on the other shall play increasingly significant roles. The bill provides a comprehensive yet flexible legislative framework for power development.

In addition, the he Union Budget has also been benevolent to the power sector following the thrust on infrastructure. Infrastructure development has been identified as one of the five key focus areas for future development. Emphasis has been placed on improvement in power distribution and attention on capacity addition. The government had, in 1999, notified 18 power projects as mega projects, conferring upon them various duty and licensing benefits. The government now proposes to liberalise the mega power project policy further by extending all these benefits to any power project that fulfills the conditions already prescribed for mega power projects.

Given the importance of transmission in the power sector, it has been proposed to reduce customs duty on specific equipment for high voltage transmission projects to 5% from 25% earlier. To further research in solar energy, wind turbines, and hydrogen fuel as alternatives to fossil fuels, the government is especially allocating Rs 20 crore to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, for launching incentive-driven research in these three fields.

Earlier this month, the company also announced that in a restructuring exercise it has 'de-subsidiarised' nine of its subsidiary companies. The nine companies that cease to be subsidiaries are BSES Telecom, BSES Andhra Power, BSES Rajdhani Power, BSES Yamuna Power, BSES Kerala Power, Southern Electricity Supply Company of Orissa, North Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Orissa, Western Electricity Supply Company of Orissa and Tamil Nadu Industries Captive Power Company.

The scrip has also gained strength after Reliance Industries mopped up an additional 20% stake in BSES through the open offer. Reliance Power Venture along with Reliance Industries have bought 14.1% stake in BSES via an open offer on 17 March 2003. Reliance group's stake in BSES has gone up to 58.2% from the earlier 44%.

Earlier, BSES announced that it had bagged a Rs 201.26-crore turnkey project from Nuclear Power Corporation of India for execution of the electrical system for its two projects located in Karnataka and Rajasthan. The turnkey project involves design, engineering, procurement, manufacturing, inspection and testing, supply, erection and commissioning of electrical equipment at the atomic power plants.

BSES has also won a contract to distribute power to about 50 lakh people in Delhi. The company entered into a share acquisition agreement with the Delhi Vidyut Board and two electricity distribution companies in the state - Central East Delhi Electricity Distribution Company and South West Delhi Electricity Distribution Company - to acquire controlling equity stake in CEDEDCL and SWDEDCL.

BSES is planning to enter into other businesses like coal washeries, captive mining and wind power. In the wind power business, BSES is targeting Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The company has even drawn business plans up to the year 2012. Accordingly, it envisages 9,000 mw of generating capacity by that time. The company requires a total investment of close to Rs 35,000-40,000 crore (Rs 350-400 billion). It expects equity participation to the extent of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion).

BSES is a leading power company in the country, engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity.

BSES is ranked among India's top 20 listed private sector companies in terms of net profit, and among the top 30 companies on all other financial parameters, including assets, net worth, sales, gross profit, net profit and market capitalisation.

BSES is the largest power distribution company in India, distributing approximately 4,000 MW, and holds the exclusive license for distribution of power in substantial areas of Mumbai, Delhi and the state of Orissa.

BSES and its subsidiaries/associates provide electricity service to nearly 5 million consumers, in areas covering approximately 124,000 square kms, and with an estimated population of 8.5 million.

The existing power generation capacity of BSES and its subsidiaries/associates is 885 MW, in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

The company provides services in electrical contracting, engineering, procurement and construction contracts and computer services and also operates as an Internet Service Provider in Mumbai.

For the third quarter ended 31 December 2002, BSES recorded a net profit of Rs 14.6 crore on a decreased total income of Rs 680.61 crore (Rs 6.8 billion).

BSE code: 500390