The company behind the design and construction of the Ram Mandir, LT, failed to impress the market with its quarterly earnings announcement, even after the company reported a 25% increase in order flow, a 19% increase in revenue, and a 15% increase in consolidated profit after tax. For the quarter ended December 31, 2023, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 15% increase in a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,947 crore y-o-y, due to better execution of infrastructure projects and continued growth in the IT and tech services portfolio. Consolidated Revenues witnessed a 19% year-over-year growth of ₹ 55,128 crore for the quarter under review, aided by the ramp-up in execution of the strong order book in the Projects and Manufacturing portfolio. Out of Rs. 55128 crore consolidated revenue, 44%, or Rs. 24300 crore, of the total revenue constituted under international revenues.

L&T won more international orders in the December quarter, comprising 67% of total order inflows. Total orders received at group level were Rs. 75900 crore, logging a 25.2% growth over the corresponding quarter of the previous year when it had won orders worth Rs 60,710 crore.

Although the order book saw an increase, the company's operating margin saw a downtrend on a quarterly and year-on-year basis. Operating margin for the December quarter came at 10.45%, compared to 10.94% in the year-ago quarter and 11.04% in the September-ending quarter.

As of December 31, 2023, the infrastructure projects segment order book stood at ₹ 317,693 crore, with the share of international orders at 28%. The segment registered healthy growth of 33% year over year and received order inflows of ₹ 43,208 crore with the receipt of marquee orders mainly in the Transmission and Distribution business. International orders at ₹ 27,230 crore constituted 63% of the total order inflow for the segment during the quarter. The EBITDA margin of the segment during the quarter was 5.5%, compared to 7.0% recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The margin for the quarter reflects continuing cost pressures on a few legacy projects that are now nearing completion.

The Energy Projects segment order book stood at ₹ 112,777 crore as of December 31, 2023, with the international order book constituting 81%. The segment secured order inflows of Rs 13,281 crore during the quarter that ended December 31, 2023, which was nearly 47% higher than the corresponding quarter of the previous year when the company had won orders worth Rs 9,051 crore. Revenues from the segment rose 24 percent year over year to Rs 7870.30 crore, while profit from the segment rose 40 percent year over year to Rs 695.21 crore.

Hi-Tech Manufacturing Segment secured order inflows of Rs 2,043 crore during the quarter that ended December 31, 2023, which was 6% higher than the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The Hi-Tech Manufacturing Segment order book stood at Rs 25,758 crore as of December 31, 2023, with the international order book constituting 8%. Raman said that order inflow in the company's Hi-Tech Manufacturing segment has been slow in the first half of FY24 due to delays in the government awarding defense contracts.

Commenting on the result, the chairman and MD of L&T said that the company has forayed into fabless semiconductor chip design. Companies’ bold strides in new-age sectors, including digital platforms, data centers, and green energy, will pivot them into technology. led conglomerate

The company expects the economy to grow at 7% in FY24 on the back of sustained capital expenditure by the government, but it also expects public capital expenditure to witness a temporary slowdown due to the general elections in 2024.