Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro has posted a 22 per cent rise in net profit for the December quarter on the back of improved margins, robust dividend and interest income.
The company reported ₹1,240.7 crore net profit in the third quarter ended December 2013 against ₹1,013.2 crore in the corresponding period in the previous year.
Net sales saw 11.8 per cent growth at ₹14,387.5 crore in the quarter against ₹12,869.3 crore.
Dividend and interest income totalling ₹358 crore formed major components of other income amounting to ₹447 crore.
K. Venkataramanan, Managing Director and CEO, told reporters the vision and plan to go international helped in order booking. Chief Financial Officer R. Shankar Raman said the most significant development during the quarter was the demerger of the hydrocarbon business into a wholly-owned subsidiary, L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Ltd, with effect from April 1, 2013.
Order position Raman said higher EBITDA margins had cushioned increases in interest and staff cost.
Order inflow at ₹21,722 crore (₹17,977 crore) during the quarter recorded a year-on-year growth of 21 per cent sustaining the growth during the first half of the current year. Major orders came from the infrastructure segment. International order inflow at ₹8,237 crore, more than doubled due to orders from West Asia.
The total order book was up 13 per cent at ₹171,184 crore as on December 31, 2013. International orders constitute 15 per cent.
The infrastructure segment clocked a revenue of ₹8,818 crore and, importantly, recorded an improved EBITDA margin of 11.4 per cent (10.3 per cent). Power segment revenue was ₹1,212 crore, posting a decrease of 30 per cent y-o-y on a shrinking order book.