L&T revenues vault 53 per cent to Rs6,901 crore in Q1

Mumbai: Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has reported a 53 per cent growth in revenue for the April-June 2008 quarter at Rs 6,901 crore, with an operating profit margin (OPM) at 9.5 per cent, unchanged from the same quarter last year.

The company's margins were unaffected despite a sharp increase in the price of raw materials partly because around 70 per cent of its engineering and construction projects have inbuilt clauses for input cost escalation. These also account for about 60 per cent of L&T's consolidated revenues.

For the engineering segment, L&T reported a 28 per cent rise in orders while, for the firm as a whole, orders rose 24 24 per cent during the quarter. The orderbook has swollen to Rs58,195 crore.

Despite a general slowdown in capital expenditure, L&T expects its revenues to grow at around 30-35 per cent in the current year. L&T expects to end FY09 with revenues of Rs31,500 crore and a net profit of around Rs2,400 crore.

L&T, meanwhile, has joined the race with Tata Power, GMR Infrastructure and DCM Shriram among other companies, for a stake in hydro power projects in Himachal Pradesh.

Tata Power, the country's largest private sector power utility, and L&T have evinced interest in projects in Lahaul and Spiti district.