L&T shares end nearly 7% higher on smart earnings

Shares of engineering major Larsen & Toubro today ended nearly 7 per cent higher after the company reported 69 per cent increase in standalone net profit for the March quarter.

After surging 6.52 per cent to Rs 1,650 in intra-day trade, L&T's stock finally ended at Rs 1,648, up 6.40 per cent on the BSE.

At the NSE, it settled 6.70 per cent higher at Rs 1,649.

The stock was the top gainer among the blue-chips on both the Sensex and Nifty.

Larsen & Toubro had on Friday reported 69 per cent increase in standalone net profit to Rs 2,723.5 crore for the March quarter and said it expects a 20 per cent increase in orders this year.

The country's largest engineering and construction company's net sales in the fourth quarter of 2013-14 climbed to Rs 20,079.10 crore from Rs 18,075.60 crore earlier.

The company's profit growth includes an exceptional gain of Rs 484.11 crore on divestment of stake in subsidiary L&T Finance Holdings, which was listed in 2011.

Its revenue from the infrastructure segment increased 17 per cent to Rs 13,260 crore while income from the heavy engineering business grew 47 per cent.