Larsen & Toubro's Share Price Gains After Q3 Profit Rise

Larsen & Toubro Ltd.'s share price jump nearly 5%, after the company reported a 14% rise in consolidated net profit for the third quarter of the current financial year. However, it missed estimates.

India's largest engineering, procurement, and construction company posted a net profit of Rs 3,359 crore for the October-December period. This was below the consensus estimate of Rs 3,771 crore tracked by Bloomberg.

Revenue from operations increased by 17.3% to Rs 64,668 crore, compared to Rs 55,128 crore in the same period last year. This was slightly below Bloomberg's estimate of Rs 64,742 crore. The company's Ebitda rose by 8.6% to Rs 6,255 crore, against an estimate of Rs 6,779 crore. However, the Ebitda margin contracted to 9.7% from 10.4%, missing the estimated 10.5%.

The company's strong order book and increased execution momentum across its projects and manufacturing businesses contributed to the revenue growth. International revenues accounted for 51% of the total revenues, highlighting improved execution in the international portfolio.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro rose as much as 4.94% to Rs 3,590 apiece. It pared gains to trade 2.34% higher at Rs 3,501 apiece, as of 09:39 a.m. This compares to a 0.32% advance in the NSE Nifty 50.

The stock has risen 0.8% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 9.2 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 46.

Out of 35 analysts tracking the company, 31 maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold' and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month analysts' consensus price target implies an upside of 15.5%.