The state-owned companies have performed well during the first half of the current fiscal recording an impressive increase of about 36 per cent in turnover.

"As per the information received from Central Public Sector Enterprises, the turnover (during April-September 2008-09) is likely to grow by about 36 per cent over the corresponding period last year," according to the minister of heavy industries and public enterprises, Santosh Mohan Dev.

This is significant as the turnover of the CPSEs during the whole of 2007-08 went up by 12.13 per cent to Rs 10.82 lakh crore (Rs 10.82 trillion).

The 36 per cent increase in turnover recorded by the central PSUs during the first half does not reflect the impact of the global financial meltdown on the performance of the state-owned companies. The impact of the financial crisis, which hit the world in mid-September following collapse of iconic investment banker Lehman Brothers will become manifest during the second half of the fiscal.

Describing the performance of the CPSEs encouraging, Dev in his foreword to the Public Enterprises Survey 2007-08, expressed the confidence that "the CPSEs would continue to play an important role in helping the country to achieve a high growth rate in the years to come".

Noting that oil market companies faced a difficult year on account of spike in crude prices in the international market, Dev said, "The share of OMCs in the total turnover of all CPSEs stood at 54 per cent in 2007-08."

The CPSEs, he added, "served well the macro-economic objectives of low and stable prices, high economic growth and regional development."

The minister further said "some of the shell companies, floated by public sector financial companies/CPSEs have been successful in attracting private sector into the ultra mega power projects with investments in the magnitude of more than Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion)."

The CPSEs, the minister said, are implementing 58 mega (investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore or Rs 10 billion) and 32 major projects (investment between Rs 100 crore or Rs 1 billion and Rs 1,000 crore or Rs 10 billion) in the power sector.

While the number of profit making CPSEs went up from 154 in 2006-07 to 159 companies in 2007-08, the number of loss making state-owned companies declined to 54 from 60 during the same period, he added.

The profits of the central PSUs which are not in the red, he said, increased to Rs 91,062 crore (Rs 910.62 billion) during 2007-08 from Rs 89,578 crore (Rs 895.78 billion) in the previous fiscal. The losses of the central PSUs were up at Rs 11,332 crore (Rs 113.32 billion) during the year as compared to Rs 8,457 crore (Rs 84.57 billion) during 2006-07.