L&T consol Q3 PAT down 17% YoY at Rs 2,055 cr on input cost spike

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,055 crore in the December quarter, down 17 per cent from the same period last year as the high cost of construction material ate into the bottomline even as net sales were up on a year-on-year basis.

The company’s topline in the period under review stood at Rs 39,563 crore, up 11 per cent from corresponding period last year with the infrastructure segment contributing the highest followed by IT & Technology Services and hydrocarbon business.

The company witnessed recurring profit growth for nine months’ period ended Dec 31, 2021 by 40 percent on a year-on-year basis.

“The increase in revenue reflects an improving project execution momentum and robust growth in the IT & Technology Services portfolio,” said L&T in its release today.

International sales during the quarter at Rs 14,541 crore constituted 37 percent of the total revenue, it said.

As per Bloomberg estimates, the company’s topline was expected to be at Rs 39,562 crore in the quarter gone by and the bottomline was seen at Rs 2,054 crore.

The corresponding quarter of the previous year had an instance of a sale of commercial property in realty business and gain on divestment from discontinued operations of the Electrical & Automation business, explained the company.

The company bagged orders worth Rs 50,359 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2021, registering decline of 31 percent over the corresponding period of the previous year, since the previous year had the benefit of the company securing the biggest ever EPC contract for Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail in the Infrastructure segment.

As on Dec 31, 2021, L&T order book stands at record levels of Rs 340,365 crore providing multi-year revenue visibility.

“Robust order announcements and tendering activity continued at a brisk pace in the current year. With improved government finances, expect strong activity levels in Q4,” said R Shankar Raman, chief financial officer at L&T said in the earnings conference call today.

In terms of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin, the IT & Technology Services segment contributed the highest at 23.8 per cent, followed by defence engineering at 23.6 percent and heavy engineering at 15.6 percent.

Going ahead, the management is of the view that the risen commodity prices could taper as the current uptrend is not sustainable. However, the fall in prices will not be sharp and immediate, said the management.

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