L&T disappoints with marginal increase in Q3 net profit to Rs866 crore

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has reported a lower than expected fiscal third quarter net profit of Rs866 crore compared Rs796 crore in the year-earlier quarter. The post-tax profit, however, was way lower than market expectations.

Total income for the quarter increased by 9.73 per cent to Rs23,847 crore compared to Rs21,732 crore for the corresponding year-ago quarter.

Revenue from international operations during the quarter at Rs6,400 crore constituted 27 per cent of the total revenue.

Consolidated gross revenue for the nine months period ended 31 December 2014 stood at Rs64,487 crore posting a y-o-y growth of 9.9 per cent.

The company secured fresh orders worth Rs34,580 crore at consolidated level during the quarter ended 31 December 2014, recording an impressive increase of 19 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Overseas order inflow during the quarter at Rs6,300 crore constituted 18 per cent of the total order inflow. Major orders during the quarter were secured by the infrastructure segment.

On a cumulative basis, the order inflow for the nine-months period ended 31 December 2014 stood at Rs1,07,785 crore, recording a healthy y-o-y growth of 16 per cent. The order inflow during the nine-months period is predominantly driven by domestic orders bagged by infrastructure and power segments.

International orders constituted 26 per cent of the total order inflow for the nine-months.

Consolidated order book of the group stood at Rs2,25,788 crore as of 51 December 2014, up 17 per cent y-o-y. International orders constituted 25 per cent of the total order book.

Overall PAT in the nine-month period ended 31 December 2014 at  Rs2,695 crore recorded an impressive growth of 31 per cent on a y-o-y basis on the back of divestment gains.

The company's stock closed 6.61 per cent lower at Rs1573 apiece on BSE, which lowered its market capitalization by Rs10,343 crore to Rs1,46,108 crore.