Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has reported a net profit of Rs.978 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013, as compared to Rs.1,137 crore in the same period in the previous year, a decline of 14 per cent. The figures were not comparable as there was a one-time gain last year, the company said.
Gross revenue increased by 10 per cent to Rs.14,648 crore due to a pick-up in execution of various jobs, the company said.
“The upward trend in the order inflow was sustained in the second consecutive quarter of the year. Order inflow at Rs.26,533 crore during the quarter July-September 2013 recorded year-on-year growth of 27 per cent, translating into a cumulative order inflow of Rs.51,692 crore for April-September 2013,” said R. Shankar Raman, CFO and Wholetime Director.
Order book
“International order inflow more than doubled contributing 43 per cent of the total order inflow on the back of a few orders for large projects in the Middle East. The major orders came from infrastructure and hydrocarbon segments,” he said.
The company’s order book at Rs.176,036 crore as at September 30, 2013, increased by 11 per cent on a year-on-year basis. International order book constituted 15 per cent of the total order book.
“L&T numbers are ahead of our expectations. Order intake of Rs.26,300 crore in the second quarter is lower than our expectations of Rs.30,000 crore,” said Sanjeev Zarbade, Vice President-Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities.
On the outlook, the company said the macro-economic environment continued to remain weak and the investment climate was yet to show signs of recovery. The recent government measures to kick-start the stalled projects would improve the investment sentiment.
L&T shares ended 4.19 per cent higher at Rs. 872.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.
