L&T Q4 profit drops near 7 percent

Engineering and construction conglomerate Larson & Toubro Wednesday posted a 6.8 percent drop in net profit at Rs.1,787.94 crore for the fourth quarter ended March.

The company had declared a net profit of Rs.1,920.41 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

Total income rose to Rs.20,668.21 crore for the fourth quarter, as against Rs.18,775.04 crore in the same period of 2011-12, L&T said.

The L&T board recommended a dividend of Rs.18.50 per share. It also recommended issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:2 to mark the platinum jubilee of the company.

The company received fresh orders worth Rs.88,035 crore during the year ended March 31, recording a healthy growth of 25 percent over the previous fiscal.

The major orders during the year came from construction, power transmission and distribution, infrastructure, transportation and the power sectors. The order book stood at Rs.153,604 crore as on March 31 this year, while the international order book constituted 13 percent of the total order book.

In its outlook, L&T said improvements in the power sector, privatization and indigenisation of defence manufacturing, and resolution of issues relating to mining, gas pricing, land acquisition among others will boost the company's prospects. With its proven execution capabilities L&T is well positioned to harness the potential opportunities in infrastructure development in India, the company said.

The company is investing in business development efforts in the Middle East, CIS Region, Africa and South Asia, while it is optimistic in sustaining its growth momentum on the back of order book and healthy strong balance sheet, the statement added.