As many as 57 public sector units are earning profits, while 59 enterprises are loss making, as per an annual review of State-level public enterprises (SLPEs) brought out by the Bureau of Public Enterprises. During the 2022-23 financial year, the PSUs together have contributed an amount of ₹16,863.94 crore to the State Exchequer by way of taxes and duties, an increase of 26.23% compared to 2021-22. The contribution to the Union government’s exchequer was ₹970.54 crore, an increase of 7.76 % over the previous year.
The total amount of profits earned by the 57 PSUs during 2022-23 amounted to ₹889.15 crore as against ₹855.02 crore in 2021-22. On the other hand, 59 enterprises have incurred losses amounting to ₹5,700.88 crores resulting in an overall net loss of ₹4,811.73 crores for the year 2022-23. But the number of loss making enterprises have come down from 66 in 2021-22 to 59 this year.
The fortunes of the companies have also changed considerably over the course of a year. Thirty two enterprises have reported increased net profit during 2022-23 in comparison with the previous year while twelve enterprises, which had earned profits during 2021-22 have incurred losses in 2022-23. The net turnover achieved by the enterprises for the year is ₹40,774.07 crore, an increase of 9% from the previous year.
The Kerala State Financial Enterprises Limited (KSFE) tops the list of profit earning enterprises, with a net profit of ₹350.88 crore during 2022-23 as compared to a net profit of ₹105.49 crore in the previous year. An upshot in revenue by 23.66 %, without a commensurate increase in expenditure seems to have helped KSFE.
The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) tops the list of loss making enterprises with a loss of ₹1,521.82 crore followed by the Kerala Water Authority (₹1,312.34 crore loss) and the Kerala State Social Security Pension Limited (KSSPL, ₹1,043.46 crore loss). The KSRTC recorded a 24.31% reduction from the prior year’s net loss. The Corporation’s total income increased by 98% to ₹2,409.84 crore in the same period, but its operating expenses exceeded its income, according to the report.
The KSSPL incurred a net deficit of ₹1,043.46 crore in 2022-23, which is 49.16% less than the previous year’s shortfall. The sole revenue stream of the Company during 2022-23 was a grant of ₹8,333.03 crore (20.16% increase from the previous year) from the government for disbursing social security and welfare board pension in the State. However, the pension disbursement exceeded the grant by ₹8,520.95 crore, accounting for 90.88% of the total outflow during the year.
The revenues of Travancore Titanium Products Limited dipped by 11.62% as the Company had to slash the market price of Titanium dioxide below the breakeven point due to the severe competition from low-priced Chinese pigment.
As per the report, public enterprises in the State employ 1.29 lakh employees, with 38,107 of them being women (29.32%).
