Larsen & Toubro beats estimates with 27 percent jump in Q2 profit

REUTERS - India's top engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro Ltd reported a higher than expected 27 percent rise in second quarter net profit, helped by a one-off gain from the sale of a subsidiary.

Consolidated net profit rose to 18.2 billion rupees ($279.31 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 14.35 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

Analysts on average had expected a net profit of 12.2 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters data.

L&T said it had an exceptional gain of 1.37 billion rupees during the quarter from the sale of the unit.

The rise in revenue was less spectacular at 6 percent from the year ago period, at 264.47 billion rupees.

"The accelerated implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has upset business environment and tripped growth in an economy already beset with twin challenges of attracting investments and adhering to fiscal rectitude," the company said.

India implemented nationwide GST in July to unify the $2 trillion economy and make it easier for companies to transact across state borders.

($1 = 65.1600 rupees)

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai and Vishal Sridhar in Bengaluru; editing by Clelia Oziel)