Profit before tax (PBT) rose 14.18% year-on-year to Rs 3,680.50 crore in Q3 December 2020. Total tax expense for the quarter jumped 46.37% to Rs 1,040.75 crore as against Rs 711 crore in Q3 December 2019.
L&T said that the Covid-19 restrictions continued to have an impact on project site execution and Hyderabad metro operations that led to a marginal decline in consolidated revenue of 2% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year. International revenue during the quarter at Rs 12,967 crore constituted 36% of the total revenue.
The consolidated profit was boosted largely due to higher profit from IT & TS segment and sale of commercial property in realty (Others segment). PAT also includes gain on divestment of Rs 209 crore from discontinued operations in Q3 December 2020.
The group order inflow in Q3 December 2020 registered a strong growth of 76% over the corresponding quarter of the previous year and stood at Rs 73,233 crore. International orders during the quarter constituted 14% of the total order inflow.
The consolidated order book of the group stood at a record Rs 331,061 crore as at 31 December 2020, registering a robust growth of 9% over the March 2020 level. The international orders constitute 20% of the total order book.
The infrastructure segment secured orders of Rs 45,574 crore, during the quarter ended 31 December 2020, higher by 80% on y-o-y basis, with receipt of two marquee orders of High Speed Rail. The segment order book stood at Rs 245,316 crore as at 31 December 2020, with the share of international order book at 19%. The EBITDA margin of the segment for the quarter ended 31 December 2020 is at 6.2% compared with 6.1% for the quarter ended 31 December 2019.
The company's IT & technology services (IT&TS) segment achieved customer revenue of Rs 6,505 crore during the quarter, up 7% YoY, led by L&T Infotech. Overseas sales constituted 93% of the total customer revenue of the segment for the quarter ended 31 December 2020. The EBITDA margin for the segment increased to 25.5% for the quarter compared with 21% of the corresponding quarter of the previous year, attributed to higher revenues, improved manpower utilisation and lower operational costs. The IT&TS segment comprises L&T Infotech, L&T Technology Services and Mindtree.
In its outlook, L&T said that India's economy is recovering at a better-than-expected pace since the fiscal second quarter of FY'21, with the Government taking initiatives for enabling demand revival through significant capex ordering in the infrastructure sector. Consequently, sectors such as metros/RRTS/HSR, roads and expressways, water, renewables and power transmission & distribution are witnessing increased traction as far as bidding/tendering activity is concerned.
New project opportunities are mostly seen in water, transportation, power transmission & distribution and renewable energy a green fuels. The prospects for IT & TS segment appear promising with increased opportunities in technology led outsourcing and digital transformation.
With the spectre of the pandemic still lingering, the company said it will focus with cautious optimism on large project wins, smart execution of its large order book, and preservation of liquidity and optimum use of capital and other resources.
Shares of L&T fell 0.12% to Rs 1,361.45 on Monday. L&T is an Indian technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate, with global operations.
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