L&T's Dec quarter profit after tax up 12%

Says persisting inflation and policy uncertainties hurting investment sentiment

Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India's largest engineering and construction company, reported a 22 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit at Rs 1,241 crore for the quarter ended December, significantly ahead of market estimates, owing to an exceptional gain of Rs 104 crore. Excluding the exceptional gain from selling one per cent stake in L&T Finance Holdings, the net profit rose to Rs 1,137 crore, 12 per cent higher compared to the year-ago period.

The company said "persisting inflation" and "policy uncertainties" impacted investment sentiment. With the high court here approving the demerger of the company's hydrocarbon business on December 20, L&T has restated its financials for the first nine months of this financial year. For that period, net revenue rose nine per cent to Rs 36,520 crore compared to the year-ago period. For the quarter ended December, the company's revenue rose 12 per cent to Rs 14,388 crore.

During the December quarter, orders from international business helped the company's order book increase 21 per cent to Rs 21,722 crore. L&T's total order book stands at Rs 1,71,184 crore, up 13 per cent compared to a year earlier.

The company believes it is likely to meet the lower end of the order inflow forecast it had given at the beginning of 2013-14 (15-20 per cent more). Cumulative order inflows during the first nine months of 2013-14 rose 23 per cent year-on-year to Rs 67,371 crore. "Considering the country is going for elections, the investment climate is what it is and public-private partnerships are on a virtual holiday, our assessment says we will achieve 15 per cent rather than 20 per cent," said Chief Financial Officer R Shankar Raman.

The company said it had a fighting chance of meeting the 15 per cent revenue growth target it had set at the beginning of the financial year. A lot depends on how the company executes domestic orders. "We believe L&T is best placed to benefit from the gradual recovery in the capex cycle, given its diverse exposure to sectors, a strong balance sheet and cash flow generation compared to peers," said Viral Shah, senior research analyst at Angel Broking.