Q2 Results: L&T’s Profit Beats Highest Estimate, Retains FY19 Revenue Forecast

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.’s profit rose for the eleventh straight quarter, beating the highest analyst estimate.

Net profit rose 22 percent on a yearly basis to Rs 2,230 crore in the July-September period, India’s largest construction and engineering company said in an exchange filing. It was higher than the most optimistic analyst estimate of Rs 1,775 crore tracked by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 21 percent to Rs 32,081 crore against Rs 29,247-crore forecast.

The company reported an exceptional gain of Rs 295 crore during the period. It had reported an exceptional gain of Rs 137 crore from sale of its non-core business and portfolio restructuring in the year-ago period.

The country’s largest infrastructure company’s order intake rose 46 percent to Rs 41,921 crore. Global orders made up 20 percent of the total inflow of Rs 8,268 crore, according to its exchange filings. The company retained its forecast of 12-15 percent increase in revenue and 10-12 percent increase in order inflows in the current financial year.

We're likely to meet our forecast as the government spending on infrastructure will increase ahead of the general elections, L&T’s Whole-Time Director and Chief Financial Officer Shankar Raman said.

“We found that most of the large orders were booked in the first half of this financial year,” Raman told reporters in an earnings press conference today. “We don't see any reason to change the guidance by looking at the way we are positioned.”

L&T retaining forecast for the current financial year is encouraging, Joindre Capital Services' Head of Research Avinash Gorakshakar said.

“The company reported better than estimates during the period and has managed to maintain a strong order book,” Gorakshakar told BloombergQuint in an interaction.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 27 percent to Rs 3,770 crore, compared with an estimate of Rs 3,346 crore. The operating margin expanded to 11.7 percent from 11.2 percent earlier—in line with 11.4 percent estimated.

Segment-Wise Revenue

• Infrastructure: Rose 20.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 15,407.55 crore.
• Power: Fell 36 percent to Rs 1,059.92 crore.
• Heavy engineering: Jumped 50.3 percent to Rs 544.13 crore.
• Electrical and automation: Rose 13.8 percent to Rs 1,489.72 crore.
• Hydrocarbons: Increased 38.9 percent to Rs 3,558.02 crore.
• Information technology: Grew 32.4 percent to Rs 3,606.48 crore.
• Financial services: Rose 30.1 percent to Rs 3,138.86 crore.
• Developmental projects: Improved 6.4 percent to Rs 1,297.10 crore.
• Other segments: Soared 64.5 percent to Rs 1,488.01 crore.

Highlights From Management

• International orders slowed due to a dip in orders from the Middle East.
• Order book at the end of the first half stood at Rs 2.81 lakh crore.
• Bulk of order is coming from the refinery segment for clean fuel.
• Fresh orders coming in from NTPC Ltd. in the second quarter.
• Didn't receive significant orders from the defence sector.
• About 33 percent of the revenue are coming from international orders.

Shares of L&T closed 1.9 percent higher at Rs 1,295 apiece ahead of the results announcement. That compares with a 1.6 percent advance in the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 Index.