BENGALURU, May 8 (Reuters) - Indian engineering company Larsen and Toubro (L&T) reported fourth-quarter profit above analysts' estimates on Wednesday, boosted by earnings from previously commissioned projects.
The company reported a 10% rise in consolidated net profit at 43.96 billion rupees ($526.5 million) for the January-March quarter, surpassing analysts' estimate of 41.13 billion rupees, as per LSEG data.
Given the variety and scale of orders it receives, L&T's results are often seen as a bellwether for capital expenditure in the Indian economy.
However, analysts have flagged that the robust capital expenditure environment, which fuelled L&T's profit for seven straight quarters, is likely to be subdued as government spending tapers ahead of national elections.
L&T's revenue from operations rose 15% to 670.79 billion rupees, ahead of analysts' expectations of 663.36 billion rupees, with international revenue contributing 45% of the total.
L&T's consolidated order book as of March 31 rose to 4.76 trillion rupees, a 20% growth from last year.
The company's infrastructure segment, which contributes to about half of its total revenue, received orders worth 31.34 billion rupees during the quarter, with international orders contributing 22%.
Besides India, the company operates in the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia.
L&T's shares settled nearly 2% higher ahead of the results. They gained 6.8% during the January-March quarter, outperforming a 3% gain in the benchmark Nifty 50 index.
($1 = 83.4954 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Eileen Soreng
Source: Reuters