Cost overruns and higher interest outgo led to Hindustan Construction Company posting a net loss of Rs 130 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

The city based firm, which is engaged in the business of engineering and construction, had clocked a net profit of Rs 8 crore during the October-December quarter last fiscal, it said in a filing to the BSE today.

HCC had reported a net loss of Rs 40.53 crore in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal.

Though turnover improved by Rs 112 crore vis-a-vis the September quarter to Rs 949 crore in the reporting period, it was down by Rs 78 crore vis-a-vis the October-December quarter last fiscal.

“The revenue growth was lower due to slow order booking during the last four quarters, execution bottlenecks, rising interest costs and payment delays by clients,” HCC Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Ajit Gulabchand, said.

During the December quarter of the current fiscal, HCC’s interest outgo was Rs 30 crore higher at Rs 104 crore. It also suffered a Rs 64.87 crore loss on account of cost overruns as a result of “substantial delays” in approval of claims, an increase in estimated costs and delays in execution.

Additionally, the company has earmarked over Rs 100 crore in lieu of “expected future losses” on two domestic and one overseas projects, among others.

Mr Gulabchand said the company would focus on judicious use of capital, improving collections and a reduction in costs and its growth strategy would continue to be winning large infrastructure projects in the public and private sectors.

As of December-end, HCC’s order book stood at Rs 16,240 crore.

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