Larsen & Toubro edged up 2.55% to Rs 223.20 after posting a 42% rise in net profit for Q4.
The scrip of India's largest engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) conglomerate recorded volumes of 42,799 shares on BSE by 10:01 IST. The scrip has shown a degree of strength of late, rising 24% to Rs 217.65 on 29 May 2003 from Rs 175.40 on 1 April 2003.
For Q4 ended 31 March 2003, the company posted a 42.2% rise in net profit to Rs 265.63 crore (Rs 186.76 crore) on a 22% increase in net sales to Rs 3,152.41 crore (Rs 2,587.96 crore).
The figures were better than estimates put forth by capitalmarket.com - a net profit of Rs 170-216 crore on net sales of Rs 2,642-2,700 crore.
For FY 2002-03, the company has recorded a 25% increase in net profit to Rs 433.10 crore (Rs 346.80 crore) on a 21% rise in net sales to Rs 9,360.12 crore (Rs 7,725.66 crore). On a consolidated basis, the group registered a 31% rise in net profit to Rs 380.18 crore (Rs 289.86 crore) on an 18.5% increase in net sales to Rs 10,326.90 crore (Rs 8,714.31 crore).
The board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 7.50 per share for the year ended 31 March 2003.
The E&C division accounted for 60% of the company's revenues for the year. Export sales (of the E&C division) recorded a 50% growth during the year. Export order bookings have also increased two-fold over the year.
The order backlog position of the division is at Rs 13,687 crore as at the beginning of the current fiscal year, showing an increase of 24% over the previous year. Orders booked during 2002-03 amounted to Rs 9,502 crore. Led by the E&C division, in particular, the outlook for the current year also seems promising.
The cement division accounted for about 25% of the profit for the year under consideration. The operating margin of the division was lower at 15.2%, down from 19%. The electrical and electronics division showed an 11% revenue growth, operating margins also improved to 14.6%.
Recently, Grasim's open offer for acquiring an additional 20% stake at Rs 190 per share in L&T got underway. The offer, that opened on 7 May 2003 will close on 5 June 2003.
Originally scheduled to open on 9 December 2002, the offer was delayed for about five months, after market regulator Sebi began an investigation over a possible violation of the Takeover Code by Grasim. But the offer materialised after Sebi gave a clean chit to Grasim over the management control issue recently. Grasim had acquired 15% stake in L&T in a series of acquisitions since November 2001.
As on 31 March 2003, the public and institutions held 31.11% and 44.09% stake in L&T, respectively.