HCC net profit down 49.74% in Q2

Infrastructure major Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) on Thursday posted a 49.74 per cent decline in its net profit to Rs 11.6 crore during the quarter ended September 30, in the current fiscal, as compared to Rs 23.08 crore in the year-ago period.

Its turnover, during the quarter, was at Rs 1,031.9 crore, up by 6.1 per cent from Rs 972 crore in the same period last year.

The company also reported its Ebitda stood at Rs 148.9 crore as against Rs 195.1 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

"Volatility in the banking sector had delayed the securing of limits for project working capital and CCEA receivables, which has impacted in the short term our ability to ramp up turnover and achieve material repayment of debt," Group CFO Praveen Sood said.

He also said with most lenders now having sanctioned support, the company expects a pickup in project execution of its significant order backlog, faster receipt of arbitration award receivables and material reductions in finance cost in the coming quarters.

Currently, the company has Rs 4,273 crore of arbitration awards in its favour, of which the firm has procured letters from government agencies for immediate release of Rs 1,930 crore (pursuant to the recent Cabinet order), of which Rs 1,097 crore has already been received, a statement said.

The company secured two new orders worth Rs 1,574 crore in this quarter and was the lowest bidder in a project worth Rs 254 crore.

Its order book is at Rs 21,523 crore as of date, the company added.

--IANS

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