L&T Q3FY25 results: Net profit rises 14%, misses Street estimates

The company's quarterly profit, however, missed Street estimates. In a Bloomberg poll, analysts had estimated an adjusted net income of Rs 3,771 crore and revenue of Rs 64,742 crore

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a steady 14 per cent growth rate in net profits attributable to the owners of the company for October-December 2024 even though it missed Street estimates. 

For the quarter, L&T reported consolidated net profit of Rs 3,358.8 crore, up from Rs 2,947.36 crore a year ago. 

Profits were supported by a 17 per cent growth rate in net sales of Rs 64,667 crore in the same period. 

In a Bloomberg poll, analysts estimated an adjusted net income of Rs 3,771 crore and revenue of Rs 64,742 crore. 

L&T’s order books outstanding as of December 2024 were at Rs 5.64 trillion, its highest ever. The company’s new orders won in the quarter hit an all-time quarterly high of Rs 1.16 trillion, and were up 53 per cent from a year ago. 

In a call with the media, L&T maintained its earlier stated guidance for FY25 of a 15 per cent growth rate in revenue and 10 per cent increase in order flows from a year ago, and core margins to remain at 8.25 per cent.However, the company’s senior management noted that it was well-positioned to do better than what it had guided for in terms of order wins.   

R Shankar Raman, chief financial officer and whole-time director, also indicated Rs 5.5 trillion as the prospective order pipeline, domestic and international, for the coming quarters. 

With domestic order wins in Q3 doubling from a year earlier, Raman noted the domestic market had picked up pace, and he was “hopeful the trajectory will continue”. 

S N Subrahmanyan, chairman and managing director, in a press statement said: “The projects and manufacturing businesses of the company continue to perform well enabled by the improved productivity pursuant to our sustained digital adoption efforts.” 

 

Sequentially, L&T’s net profit was marginally down by 1 per cent, and net sales were up 5 per cent. In a separate statement to the exchanges, L&T announced an order win for its “minerals & metals”) vertical for setting up freight handling facilities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. The order is valued in the range Rs 1,000-2,500 crore. In his outlook, Subrahmanyan noted: “The Union Budget is expected to emphasise building infrastructure, adoption of technology, improving learning efficacy and skill development and policy continuity towards energy transition which will provide necessary impetus to the Indian economy.” 

Further commenting on geo-politics, he added: “We expect the Middle East (West Asia) to continue to strengthen its physical and digital infrastructure besides continuing to monetise its oil and gas assets. Amid this backdrop, the company will continue to pursue excellence and leverage its strengths to seize new opportunities while remaining resilient.” 

About 60 per cent of the orders L&T won this financial year were from the international market, where West Asia dominates. Its revenue growth in the quarter under review, L&T said, was on the back of strong order books and a rampup in execution across its projects and manufacturing (P&M) businesses. International revenue in the quarter at Rs 32,764 crore constituted 51 per cent of the total, which reflects improved execution in the international P&M portfolio.