L&T profit jumps 215 percent
By IANSThursday, January 29, 2009
NEW DELHI - Construction and engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T) posted a 215.5 percent jump in its quarterly profit, primarily riding on the income from the sale of its ready-mix concrete (RMC) business.
The company filed a net profit of Rs.15.2 billion (Rs.1,520.44 crore/$338.75 million) for the third quarter of 2008-09, as against Rs.4.81 billion during the same period last fiscal.
The company had sold the RMC business to French major Lafarge for Rs.14.8 billion ($328.9 million) last May.
The 70-year-old company, which has interests in electrical equipment and machinery and industrial products apart from its core business, posted a 34.6 percent growth in net income, with sales rising from Rs.63.82 billion in the third quarter of 2007-08 to Rs.86.99 billion in the quarter under review.
In the segmented results posted by the company, only its engineering and construction business managed to remain profitable with 39.84 percent growth in its profit before tax, while the electrical and industrial products business suffered a 29.41 percent and 42.73 percent slump in profit.
