L&T Q4 net up 14 per cent at Rs 1,920 crore

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Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) on Monday reported a growth of 13.89 per cent in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,920.41 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, largely on the back of improved order inflows.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 1,686.21 crore during the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Net sales of the company during the quarter went up by about 21 per cent to Rs 18,460.90 crore as against Rs 15,261.17 crore of in the same period of FY'11, it said in a filing to the BSE.

The company's total expenses during the quarter rose by 22.25 per cent to Rs 16,080.50 crore, though its tax outgo decreased by over 19 per cent to Rs 708.10 crore.

The engineering major did not provide consolidated results for the fourth quarter of last fiscal. For the full year 2011-12, the company reported a growth of 5.33 per cent in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4,693.69 crore as compared to Rs 4,456.17 crore in FY11.

Consolidated net sales of the company was up 23.58 per cent in FY12 to Rs 64,313.11 crore, while its total expenses went up by over 25 per cent to Rs 57,123.46 crore.

During the fiscal, the company received orders worth Rs 70,574 crore, which includes Rs 63,574 crore orders received in the engineering and construction sector.

As on March, 2012, the company had a total order book of Rs 1,45,723 crore, it said in a separate statement.

"Decelerating growth momentum across the sectors during 2011-12 led to deferment of capital expenditure and fresh investment decisions. Still the company was able to garner sizeable new orders," L&T said.

Giving its guidance for the current fiscal, Larsen and Toubro said: "A clear policy direction from the government, inflation containment, benign interest rate environment and improved fiscal situation are key to revive the growth momentum and investment confidence."

It, however, added that due to its large order book, the company is well positioned to sustain revenue growth momentum in the medium term.

The company Board has recommended a dividend of Rs 16.50 per share. Shares of the company were trading at Rs 1,165.30 apiece on the BSE at 1430 hours, up 2.32 per cent from the previous close.