Hindustan Construction Company Posts Net Profit of Rs 24 Crore in Q4

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) on Friday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 24.40 crore for the quarter ended March, 2014.

The construction major had reported a net loss of Rs 50.26 crore in the corresponding quarter of 2012-13 and is under a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) scheme.

Net sales of the company rose 20.54 per cent to Rs 1,184.83 crore during the quarter as against Rs 982.92 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year (FY13), it said in a filing to the BSE.

HCC did not publish the consolidated results for the last quarter, though it chose to publish consolidated annual results.

During the quarter, total expenditure stood at Rs 1,017.49 crore, amounting to 85.88 per cent of the net sales.

During the fourth quarter of 2012-13, HCC's total expenditure was nearly 95 per cent of its net sales at Rs 932.58 crore.

Besides, other income of the company rose by over 92 per cent to Rs 45.78 crore in the last quarter, thereby helping HCC to report profits.

Finance costs of the company stood at Rs 150.24 crore in the last quarter, up 11 per cent.

For the full year ended March 31, 2014, HCC registered a standalone net profit of Rs 80.64 crore against a loss of Rs 137.64 crore in FY13.

Its standalone net sales increased 7.20 per cent to Rs 4,113.49 crore in the last fiscal year.

On a consolidated basis, HCC's loss making streak continued in the last fiscal, though it has narrowed down considerably. The company reported a net loss of Rs 277.40 crore in FY14 against a net loss of Rs 482.46 crore in the previous fiscal year (FY13).

The consolidated net sales stood at Rs 9,592.72 crore in the last fiscal year, up 13.56 per cent from FY13 levels of Rs 8,447.57 crore.

As on March 31, 2014, HCC's order book stood at Rs 14,249 crore.

"After two years of losses, the company improved its performance quarter by quarter to post a net profit. Efficient project management and tight cost control has helped to improve margins," the company said in a separate statement.

It further said that HCC secured nine new orders in the last fiscal worth Rs 3,218 crore.

"In an uncertain economic scenario, our focus remained on improving the operational efficiency. The company will continue to implement measures aimed at further improvement in all financial parameters," company chairman Ajit Gulabchand said.

Inflow of Rs 3,218-crore new orders will help the company in improving its turnover in the next few quarters, he added.

Talking about performances of its subsidiaries, HCC said that Switzerland-based Steiner AG became its 100 per cent subsidiary in the last fiscal year with pre-agreed purchase of its remaining 34 per cent stake in the Swiss firm.

Steiner AG reported a net profit of CHF 8.15 million (Rs 54.1 crore) and a revenue of CHF 797.6 million (Rs 5,294.7 crore) in the last fiscal year. The company had a cash balance of CHF 144.4 million (Rs 974 crore) and had an order book of CHF 1.18 billion (Rs 7,956 crore) as on March, 2014.

Besides, it has secured orders worth CHF 300 million but contracts are yet to be signed.

On Lavasa Corporation, which is constructing 5 towns near Pune, HCC said that it registered a turnover of Rs 179.5 crore in the last fiscal year and has considerably narrowed down its loss to Rs 5.7 crore against the loss of Rs 78 crore in FY13.

During the year, over 600 residential units have been completed in Lavasa and the construction is in full swing at two towns - Dasve and Mugaon. Lavasa also witnessed 8 lakh tourists' footfalls last year, HCC said.

On HCC Infrastructure, the company said that significant progress has been made towards the completion of NH-34, its largest and most ambitious public-private partnership project in West Bengal.

The National Highways Authority of India has approved commercial operations for the Rs 1,169 crore Baharampore-Farakka highway (101 km long) and toll collection is expected to start next week, HCC said.

It added that Rs 1,378 crore Farakka-Raniganj highway (102 km long) is expected to be operational within 6 months and that 76 per cent of the project work was completed till March, 2014.

"With a majority of HCC Concessions' BOT (built-operate-transfer) having achieved maturity, the company is evaluating financial offers for select assets at both resilient and attractive valuations, despite the prolonged economic slowdown over the past 3 years," it said.

As of 3:09 p.m., shares in HCC were trading at Rs 20.50 apiece on the BSE, up 7.61 per cent from the previous close.