Hindustan Construction swings to loss, shares fall
Hindustan Construction swings to loss, shares fall
Mumbai: Infrastructure company Hindustan Construction Co (HCC) on Friday said it posted a net loss in July-Sept due to higher interest burden and significant delays in new infrastructure project allotments, sending its shares down nearly 5%.
“I would expect the rough weather throughout the year," Ajit Gulabchand added.
In July-Sept, the Mumbai-based company’s interest payment rose to ₹ 107 crore from ₹ 670.7 million a year ago.
With a total debt of ₹ 417 crore as of the end of September, its debt-equity ratio stood at 2.81.
It reported a quarterly net loss of ₹ 405.4 million compared with a profit of ₹ 121.4 million in the year-ago period. Net sales slightly fell to ₹ 838 crore from a year ago.
“The financial performance reflects the difficult economic and business environment," Gulabchand said.
At 1.21 pm, shares of the company partially pared losses and were at ₹ 26.65, down 2.02% in a choppy Mumbai market.
Its total order book as on 30 September was at ₹ 16,175 crore. This excludes two contracts worth ₹ 2,077 crore for which the company has emerged the lowest bidder.
The performance of arm Lavasa Corp, which is developing a $31 billion township near Pune, Maharashtra, continued to be adversely impacted by the ministry of environment and forest’s (MoEF) order to stop work, the company said in a statement.
As a result of the delays Lavasa Corp is loosing about ₹ 20 million a day, it said.
The Bombay High court has directed government of Maharashtra to take action pending HCC’s unit Lavasa’s case in next two weeks and give a decisive order by 16 November, the statement said.
On 14 October, the MoEF had declined to approve the first phase of the township project, citing non-compliance with conditions specified by a ministerial panel probing the project’s violation of green rules.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!