High order executions up L&T Q3 income 40 pc at Rs 11,413-cr

Mumbai, Jan 17 (PTI) A high execution of orders hashelped propel L&T''s Q3 FY 11 total income to Rs 11,413-crore,up 40 per cent as compared to Rs 8,145-crore in the year-agoperiod.

Its net profit for the quarter rose 10.78 per cent toRs 840.63-crore as against Rs 758.82-crore in Q3 last fiscal.

"The growth in sales indicates the pace of executionof orders we had received in the last fiscal (FY 10). Manyjobs were acquired last year, which are now in the executionmode and this has reflected in our sales figures going up,"L&T''s Chief Financial Officer, Y M Deosthalee, told reportershere today.

The company had recorded only a 6 per cent increase inits sales in the December quarter last fiscal as compared toQ3 of FY 09, he said.

"The infrastructure sector is volatile. We cannotguarantee stable growth in sales or in order inflows in everyquarter. Last year, we recorded a 6 per cent growth in saleswhile for the same period (Q3) of FY 11, we achieved a 40 percent increase in total income," Deosthalee said.

The order inflow of the company has dipped by 25 percent this quarter to Rs 13,366-crore as againstRs 17,793 -crore in the year-ago period. .

"Various projects which were expected to be awarded in the first-half of the fiscal have been pushed back due toissues like delays in certain Government policy decisions orfinancial closures by private firms. We expect these projectsto be awarded by end-March 2011. If this happens, we see oursales as well as order flows increasing considerably,"Desothalee said.

The company''s engineering and construction segmentrecorded sales of Rs 9,831-crore for the quarter, up 45 percent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The order-book of the segment stood atRs 1,12,498-crore mainly contributed by construction andpower projects, he said.

The electrical and electronics segment recorded anincrease of 11 per cent in its customer sales at Rs 759-crorefor the quarter.

"With the industrial growth momentum picking up andimproved demand from the agriculture sector, the flagshipElectrical Standard Products business registered a good growthin revenue contributing to sales growth. However, the increasein prices of copper and silver has affected the margins ofthis segment," Deosthalee said.

Aided by higher demand from industrial sector, thecompany''s machinery and industrial products segment registereda growth of 15 per cent in customer sales at Rs 660-crore forthe quarter, he added.