Mumbai: Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has secured fresh orders totaling Rs12,453 crore during the quarter - a y-o-y growth of 74 per cent - belying an economic slowdown amidst the global financial meltdown.

The company's overseas orders accounted for 21 per cent of its total orders while overseas sales accounted for 19 per cent of the total, L&T said in a release.

L&T reported gross sales of Rs7,776 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2008, registering an increase of 40 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Profit before interest and tax for the quarter ended 30 September rose 35 per cent to Rs760 crore while profit after tax grew by 32 per cent to Rs460 crore during the quarter.

For the half year ended 30 September, sales revenues at Rs14,769 crore grew 46 per cent and profit after tax at Rs963 crore grew by 33 per cent over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Engineering and construction segment reported healthy financials for the quarter with a slew of mega project orders, with orders worth Rs10,434 crore, a growth of 90 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year

The share of overseas orders stood at 22 per cent while total revenue for the segment stood at Rs5,990 crore, up 41 per cent from the previous quarter.
 
Cumulative orders grew 53 per cent for the half-year period  to Rs20,950 crore while revenue rose 49 per cent to Rs11,531 crore over the corresponding period of the previous year.

Most of the orders under execution are either ahead or in line with the contractual delivery deadlines.

The engineering and construction segment's order book as at 30 September 2008 stood at a record Rs60,931 crore. The share of international orders in the closing order book was 17 per cent.

The electrical and electronics segment posted revenue growth of 13 per cent at Rs 760 crore for the quarter, despite a severe dent in demand. Export sales grew, helping to boost the share of international sales to 16 per cent for the current quarter. Profitability for the quarter was under strain, due to higher input costs, lower capacity utilisation and competitive pressures constraining the ability to pass through the cost increases to the customers, the L&T release said.

The machinery and industrial products segment reported revenues of Rs685 crore for the quarter ended 30 September, registering a growth of 16 per cent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The share of exports stood at 22 per cent for the quarter. Aided partly by rupee depreciation, the segment realised higher margins from international sales of valves and industrial machinery products during the quarter. It has also been able to maintain the superior margins from domestic markets in the construction machinery business, despite the competitive pressures.

''Given the quality of the order book and the brisk inflow of orders so far during the quarter, the company is confident about meeting its financial goals for the current year,'' L&T said, adding it was closely monitoring the unfolding developments in the global financial markets and the impact of these on its growth plans in the medium term.