L&T posts robust Q2 results, profit rises 23%

India’s largest construction and engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Wednesday reported a 23% jump in its second quarter profit helped by a strong order book.

The company’s net profit for the September quarter rose to ₹2,230 crore, from ₹1,819 crore last year. A Reuters’ Refinitv Eikon poll of analysts had estimated the profit at ₹1,719 crore.

The infrastructure heavyweight saw revenue rise 21% to ₹32,081 crore in Q2. L&T also reported exceptional gains of ₹295 crore for the September quarter; during the corresponding quarter in the previous year this figure stood at ₹137 crore.

L&T’s order inflow during the quarter rose 46% to ₹41,921 crore, with global orders contributing 20% of the total intake. L&T maintained its forecast of a 12-15% growth in revenue and 10-12% rise in order inflows for the current fiscal.

Among the segments that performed well were heavy engineering whose revenue rose over 50%, hydrocarbons which recorded a 39% rise in revenue and infrastructure with a 21% growth in revenue on a year-on-year basis. IT and financial services too posted a revenue growth of over 30% over last year.

Addressing the media in Mumbai after the results were announced, L&T management said the company’s order book at the end of the first half of FY19 stood at ₹2.8 lakh crore and that the company has not yet received any significant orders for the defence business.

L&T’s stock closed at ₹1,298.35 on the BSE on Wednesday, up over 2% from the previous day’s close. The Sensex closed up 1.63%.