L&T posted a good set of numbers for Q3Fy13 and in an otherwise bearish market yesterday, this stock did well on the back of encouraging performance.  On a 10% (YoY) rise in net sales at Rs. 15,429.36 crore, the company posted a 13% rise in net profit at Rs.1,121.75 crore. There was a 10% rise in operating expenses but this was more than offset by the 25% rise in other income at Rs.530 crore, which was mainly interest earned on its various deposits. The market was more enthused with the fact that its order inflow, YoY showed a rise of 14% at Rs.19,545 crore and at end of 31st Dec 2012, its total order book was at Rs. 1,62,334 crore, up 11% on a YoY. But the sobering aspect was that OPM was at 9.6%, down 110 bps on QoQ.

Its main fray, engineering and construction (E&C) business recorded the best performance, showing a 11% growth in revenue. 91% of the total order for Q3, which is Rs. 17,818 crore came in from this segment. Its electrical and electronics business segment rose 7% but machinery and industrial products business recorded a fall in business due to slowdown in the manufacturing sector. Seasonally, Q4 is always the best for L&T and it expects the quarter to be much better than Q3. It has guided a 15-20% growth in FY13 and based on this, it expects to bag orders to the tune of Rs.20,000 crore for Q4. Net profit at end of 9MFY13 was at Rs.3123 crore and with more quarter to go, which is seasonally its best, the company seems all set to surpass the FY12 net profit of Rs.4458 crore.