L&T sees +19% growth

Larsen & Toubro enjoyed a +19% rise in revenues from its Engineering & Construction division in the financial year ending March 31, 2011. At INR 37550 crore (US$ 8.35 billion), the company was by far the largest contractor in India last year. It added that its operating margin for the year was 13.7%.

As well as rising revenues, the company enjoyed an even steeper growth in orders. In the final quarter of the year alone it booked INR 28536 crore (US$ 6.34 billion) of work, and over the year as a whole, it won jobs worth INR 73013 crore (US$ 16.23 billion) - a +14% increase on 2010.

The company said it won major orders for projects connected to the minerals & metals industry, as well as several for factory construction. This inflow of work took its total order backlog to INR 128000 crore (US$ 28.5 billion) by the end of March - equivalent to three years, five months work at the current rate.

Although it was a strong year for the company, L&T sounded a gentle warning about its outlook. "Intense competition and spiralling input costs may exert some pressure on the operating margin going forward," it said in a statement. The company added, "Despite the continuing threat of rising inflation and hardening interest rates, the growth story of a resilient Indian economy remains encouraging."