L&T Q2 profit jumps 118% on E&A unit sale, order inflow slides 42% YoY

On a consolidated basis, Larsen & Toubro (L&T)'s net profit surged 118.43% to Rs 5520.27 crore on 12.15% decline in net sales to Rs 31034.74 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Profit was boosted due to divestment of Electrical & Automation (E&A) business to Schneider Electric SE on 31 August 2020. Profit after tax from discontinued operations for the quarter and six months ended 30 September 2020 includes gain on divestment Rs 8101.04 crore (net of tax).

The L&T board has approved special dividend of Rs 18 per equity share for the financial year 2020-21.

Profit before exceptional item stood at Rs 1,410.29 crore for the quarter, falling 44.7% compared to Rs 2,551.67 crore in same period last year. The reported profit was impacted by pandemic in terms of lower revenue, higher credit provisions in the financial services business and disruption of the Metro services.

During the quarter, with the labour at various project sites reaching near pre-covid levels, the businesses saw a pickup in execution momentum compared to Q1 FY21 and achieved a sequential growth of 46%. The revenue, however, declined by 12% y-o-y due to the lingering impact of the pandemic during the quarter under review.

International revenue during the quarter at Rs 12,148 crore constituted 39% of the total revenue, L&T said in a statement.

The company bagged orders worth Rs 28,039 crore at the group level in Q2 September 2020 registering a sequential improvement of 19% over previous quarter, but a decline of 42% vis-vis previous year, on account of deferment of award decisions largely caused by the pandemic.

International orders during the quarter constituted 36% of the total order inflow. The consolidated order book of the group stood at Rs 298,856 crore as at 30 September 2020, with international order book constituting 24% of the total order book.

Infrastructure segment secured orders of Rs 14,522 crore, in Q2 FY21, lower by 7% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

In its outlook, L&T said that if the current moderation in new Covid cases is sustained, and with increased efforts for launch of effective vaccines, recovery could gather pace and yield a possible GDP upgrade over the next year or two. On the global front, the outlook on economic recovery remains uncertain with resurgence of Covid in parts of Europe, US policy directions dependent on outcome of Presidential elections and protectionist policies being adopted by various countries.

Against this backdrop, the company continues to focus on profitable execution of its large order book, improve its operational efficiencies, unlock capital, maintain liquidity focus and exercise strong cost control measures.

L&T is an Indian technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate, with global operations

Shares of L&T rose 0.12% to 983.65 on Wednesday.

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