Larsen & Toubro profit rises 12 percent in third quarter

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Larsen & Toubro Ltd, India's largest infrastructure builder, posted a 12 percent rise in quarterly net profit, roughly in line with analyst estimates, as overseas revenue offset the impact of a slowing domestic economy.

L&T, which lays roads, constructs ships, develops real estate and makes power plant equipment, has been looking to boost overseas sales as the domestic economy grows at its slowest pace in a decade.

In October-December, net profit rose to 11.36 billion rupees from 10.13 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

That compares with an 11.5 billion rupee mean estimate of 16 analysts, according to Thomson Reuters data.

 

The company said the net profit in the quarter grew 22 percent to 12.41 billion rupees after accounting for the exceptional gain on dilution of its stake in a subsidiary.

Shares of L&T, valued at $15.1 billion, closed down 0.7 percent before the earnings report, on the BSE Sensex that gained 0.4 percent.

(Reporting by Prashant Mehra; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Gopakumar Warrier)