L&T Q1 net down 12.46% at Rs756.03 crore

Infrastructure major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has reported a standalone net profit of Rs756.03 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2013, a 12.46 per cent decline compared to the similar quarter of the previous year.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs863.65 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

L&T attributes the profit fall to the job mix, lower margins and a fall in other income.

Net sales of the company were up at Rs12,555.06 crore during the quarter against Rs11,956.35 crore in Q1 of 2012-13 and gross revenue stood at Rs12,704 crore for the quarter ended 30 June 2013, showing increases of 5 per cent each over revenues for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Revenue from international operations grew 68 per cent to Rs3,378 crore compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The company secured fresh orders worth Rs25,159 crore during the April–June 2013 quarter, recording a healthy y-o-y growth of 28 per cent.

International order inflow at Rs3,617 crore grew 2.28 times and constituted 14 per cent of the total order inflow for the April–June 2013 quarter, the company said.

L&T said major orders during the year were in the building and factories, transportation infrastructure, hydrocarbon and heavy civil infrastructure businesses.

The order book at Rs1,65,393 crore as of 30 June 2013 were up 8 per cent on a y-o-y basis.

International orders grew 16 per cent and constituted 12 per cent of the total orders.

Beginning the April-June 2013 quarter, operations of the engineering and construction segment, which were hitherto reported as part of one single segment, have been reported under different segments based on internal re-structuring and to provide greater clarity on segment information, L&T said.

The company's revenue was impacted by a 44 per cent fall in power business at Rs1,274.94 crore and an almost 18 per cent fall in the metallurgical and material handling business at Rs1,086.92 crore.

In a separate statement, the company said both businesses had a lower order book due to a slowdown in the sectors.

Other income, primarily interest earned on deposits, fell by over 22 per cent to Rs472.60 crore, compared with Rs608.12 crore in Q1 of FY'13.

L&T's revenue from the infrastructure business reported a growth of almost 22 per cent at Rs5,460.81 crore, while in the hydrocarbon business, it was up 24 per cent at Rs2,776.33 crore.

During the quarter, its order book, at Rs1,65,393 crore went up by 8 per cent on an year-on-year basis, the company said.

L&T said, "persisting macro concerns, currency volatility and attendant uncertainty in the financial markets are impacting the growth and investment sentiment of the Indian economy".

The company expects the recent government measures on FDI, reduction in oil and power subsidy and facilitation of investments to bear fruit in the medium term.

"Resolution of long-pending issues affecting the core sectors, specific measures to boost domestic manufacturing, increased resource allocation for infrastructure sector and further push on next generation reforms are necessary to provide much needed impetus for investment and growth in India," the company said.

The L&T stock, which opened higher in the morning, was down Rs71.75 or about 7.46 per cent at Rs901.95 at the close of trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).