Global lifts L&T's order boat in Q3

A surge in international contracts swelled the order book at engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) in the December quarter, even as domestic orders lost steam at India's largest engineering and construction company.

Robust growth on the global front bodes well for the conglomerate, as domestic infrastructure orders typically slow down around a general election, which is likely to be held in the June quarter.

L&T expects order inflows to grow more than 20% in FY24 against its previous guidance of 10-12%, said Chief Financial Officer (CFO) R. Shankar Raman.

The company also expects to beat its 15% revenue growth guidance for the year.

On Tuesday, L&T reported a 19% on-year growth in its consolidated revenues to ₹55,128 crore in the December quarter, while profit grew 15% on-year to 12,947 crore.

Led by its West Asia operations, L&T's international order inflows during the third fiscal quarter surged 230% over the previous year to 150,600 crore, while domestic order inflows almost halved to ₹25,400 crore. The company booked total new orders of just under 76,000 crore during the quarter, a 25% increase year-on-year.

"Domestic orders de-grew whereas international orders grew significantly to keep the overall order inflow in good shape," Raman said in a post-earnings media call.