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Informist, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026

 

By Astha Oriel

 

MUMBAI – Larsen & Toubro Ltd. is expected to report a double-digit year-on-year increase in its consolidated top line and bottom line for the December quarter due to a healthy execution of its order book, according to analysts. The company's operating margin is also likely to expand due to growth in its core engineering and construction business. In its core projects and manufacturing business, the engineering behemoth operates in three key segments – infrastructure projects, energy projects, and hi-tech manufacturing.

 

The net profit of the country's largest engineering, procurement, and construction company is estimated at INR 43.17 billion, up over 28% on year and 10% on quarter for the latest quarter, according to the average of estimates from 10 brokerages. The company's net profit was INR 33.59 billion in the year-ago quarter.

 

The highest estimate of net profit is INR 45.48 from JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt Ltd., whereas the lowest estimate is INR 40.38 billion from Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. This will likely be the 16th consecutive quarter for the company's increase in net profit in FY26.

 

The consolidated revenue from operations is estimated at INR 746.96 billion for the December quarter, up over 15% year-on-year and 10% quarter-on-quarter, according to the average of estimates. The company's net sales were INR 646.68 billion in the year-ago quarter. The highest estimate for net sales is INR 754.70 billion by HDFC Securities Ltd., whereas the lowest estimate is INR 735.59 billion by Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd. 

 

The company's order book is expected to rise 22-24% on year for the December quarter, according to two brokerages. Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. estimates the company's order book to be at INR 7.01 trillion, whereas Elara Securities expects the order book to be at INR 6.87 trillion for the December quarter. The company's order book was INR 5.64 trillion in the year-ago period. Nomura expects execution growth of 21% year-on-year for L&T in its core business, driven largely by the infrastructure and hydrocarbon segments.

 

The company's "order inflows" are, however, expected to decline due to a strong base, the heavy monsoon, and lack of any ultra-mega orders during the quarter, according to three brokerages. The highest estimate of decline in order inflows is 27% on year by Nomura, whereas the lowest estimate is 6% on year by Nuvama. The company's order inflows were INR 1.16 trillion in the year-ago quarter. For FY26, the company has given a guidance of more than 10% growth in group order inflows to INR 19 trillion.

 

L&T's consolidated earnings before, tax, depreciation, and amortisation are expected to be INR 75.48 billion, up 21% on year for the December quarter, according to the average of estimates of nine brokerages. The company's EBITDA margin is expected to expand to 10.8% for the December quarter from 9.7% in the year-ago quarter.

 

The company has a financial services subsidiary, L&T Finance Ltd., and two technology services subsidiaries LTIMindtree Ltd. and L&T Technology Services Ltd. L&T Finance, in which L&T has a 66% stake, reported an 18% rise in its consolidated December quarter net profit to INR 7.39 billion. L&T Technology Services, in which L&T holds a 74% stake, reported a consolidated net profit of INR 3.03 billion, down 6% on year and around 8% on quarter for the December quarter. LTIMindtree's consolidated net profit for the December quarter was INR 9.71 billion, down 11% on year and 31% on quarter.

 

Two brokerages expect the earnings before interest and tax margin to rise. L&T's EBIT margin for its core business is expected to increase 32 basis points on year to 6.7%. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. expects core business margin to expand by 50 bps on year to 8.1%. The margin for the services business could expand 115 bps on year to 17.2%, according to Nomura.

 

L&T will announce its December quarter results on Wednesday. Shares of L&T closed at INR 3,793 apiece on the National Stock Exchange Thursday. Shares of the company have fallen more than 4% since the company reported its September quarter results on Oct. 29.

 

All the brokerage reports on the company available with Informist have given a 'Buy' rating on the stock, with an average target price of INR 4,567. This is nearly 17% higher than the current market price.

 

Following are the December quarter earnings estimates for Larsen & Toubro from 10 brokerages in descending order of the estimate of net profit in INR billion:

 

Brokerage	Net Sales	Net Profit	EBITDA
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt Ltd	745.52	45.48	76.62
HDFC Securities Ltd	754.70	45.00	77.80
Kotak Securities Ltd	748.50	44.01	75.28
Nomura Equity Research	748.14	43.75	74.71
Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd	745.54	43.22	74.89
Mirae Asset Sharekhan Ltd	7,43,68	43.13
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd	750.67	42.96	77.30
Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt Ltd	753.66	42.82	77.21
Elara Securities (India) Pvt Ltd	735.58	40.91	70.85
Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd	743.64	40.38	74.65
Average	746.96	43.17	75.48

 

 

End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

 

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