Hold Larsen and Toubro; target Rs 1133: Firstcall Research

Firstcall Research report on Larsen and Toubro (L&T)

"For the quarter ended December 31, 2013, Larsen & Toubro posted a revenue from operations of Rs. 145340.6 million compared to Rs. 130160.4 million in the previous year period, registering a y-o-y growth of 12 percent, excluding the performance of Hydrocarbon business segment, which has been transferred with effect from April 1, 2013 to L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company upon sanction of the scheme by the Hon'ble Bombay High Court vide order dated December 20, 2013. Net profit for the quarter stood at Rs. 12407.00 million, recording an increase of 10.60 percent over the corresponding quarter of the previous year."

"During the quarter October-December 2013, Order Inflow at Rs. 217220 million, recorded y-o-y growth of 21 percent, sustains the growth during the first half of the current year, despite prevailing weak investment climate. Major orders came from the Infrastructure segment. During the quarter, the International order inflow at Rs. 82370 million, more than doubled on the back of major orders secured in the Middle East. The cumulative order inflow for the nine months period, April-December 2013 stood at Rs. 673710 million registering a 23 percent growth over the nine months period of the previous year. As on December 31, 2013, Order Book at Rs. 1711840 million grew by 13 percent on a y-o-y basis. International Order Book constituted 15 percent of the total Order Book."

"Infrastructure Segment achieved Customer Revenue of Rs. 89084.60 million for the quarter, registered a healthy y-o-y growth of 21 percent. International sales constituted 16 percent of the total customer revenue of the segment. Persisting inflation, tight liquidity, elevated interest rates and macro-economic & policy uncertainties have impacted the investment sentiment in the domestic economy. Sliding GDP and IIP numbers are indicative of the task ahead for achieving economic recovery. With its growing order book, increased international presence and improved competitiveness, the Company is hopeful of meeting its growth operations in the near and medium term. Hence, we recommend ‘HOLD’ for ‘Larsen & Toubro Ltd’ with a target price of Rs 1133 on the stock," says Firstcall Research Report.

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