L&T Q4FY21 results: Profit rises 3% YoY to Rs 3,393 crore; order inflows dips 12%

Larsen & Turbo (L&T) on Friday, May 14, 2021, reported a 3 per cent Year-on-Year rise in consolidated profit at Rs 3,292.81 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. It has posted a consolidated profit of Rs 3,197.07 crore for the same quarter ended last financial year.

The construction engineering company has reported an 8.7 per cent growth in the consolidated revenue from operations at Rs 48,087.90 crore as compared to Rs 44,245.28 crore posted last year. The company's new order flows in the fourth quarter slumped 12 per cent to Rs 50,651 crore against the order inflows of Rs 57,785 crore posted in Q4FY20.

The company received significant orders during the quarter in various segments like Factories, Hydel and Tunnel, Metros, Special bridges, Nuclear power, Rural water, Renewable energy, Hydrocarbon offshore and Minerals and metal sector. International orders stand at Rs 18,439 crore during the quarter, which is at 36 per cent of the total order inflow, with receipt of the biggest Solar PV plant order and Transmission line orders.

Total order book at the end of the financial year stood 2020-21 stood at Rs 3.27 lakh crore, up 8 per cent on a YoY basis as compared to Rs 3.03 lakh crore. International orders constitute 21 per cent of the total order book.

L&T's EBITDA - a metric used to evaluate a company's operating performance – for the quarter stood at Rs 6,389 crore, up 25 per cent from Rs 5,121 crore reported last year. The margins improved to 13.3% in Q4FY21 as against 11.6% reported in Q4FY20.

The Board of Directors has recommended a Final Dividend of Rs 18 per share of the face value Rs 2 each and the Company will arrange to pay the same after approval of the shareholders in the ensuing Annual General Meeting. During the year, the Company had declared a special dividend of Rs.18 per equity share as an interim dividend, post the divestment of the Electrical & Automation business

Outlook

During the year FY 2020-21, India despite stiff lockdowns, reverse labour migration, supply chain disruptions, a resultant deep GDP contraction, still did well to recover to the path of economic recuperation and full recovery. Large constituents of the economy recovered to the pre-COVID-19 level of activity in a phased manner. The economy which made a resilient comeback during the later part of FY 2020-21, is once again at the crossroads, with the onset of a more ferocious second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, impacting many states.

This is expected to temporarily slow down the growth momentum, especially during the first quarter of FY 2021-22. Once the immediate challenges of shortages in health infrastructure and availability of vaccines get resolved, it is expected that with a controlled implementation of specific lockdowns in localized containment zones and strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, the economy would once again recover back with the resumption of near normalized activity in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction and non-contact based services.

Larsen a Toubro is an Indian multinational engaged in EPC Projects, Hi-Tech Manufacturing and Services. It operates in over 30 countries worldwide. A strong, customer-focused approach and the constant quest for top-class quality have enabled L&T to attain and sustain leadership in its major lines of business for eight decades.