Hindustan Construction Company (500185) Q4 02/03 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY03 gross operating income reached a record Rs 789.2 crore; order book stood at Rs 3,346 crore at 31 March 2003, up 27% YoY.

• Four new contracts worth Rs 1,156.5 crore were secured despite intense bidding competition; reported PAT was Rs 28.7 crore.

• FY03 covers 12 months versus the prior period’s 9 months after the fiscal-year change; comparisons are not like-for-like.

Financial highlights

• Operating income was Rs 789.23 crore; net operating income excluding integrated JVs was Rs 677.21 crore; PBDIT was Rs 124.24 crore.

• Reported PBT was Rs 45.24 crore and PAT Rs 28.66 crore; excluding extraordinary income and integrated JV profit/loss, PBT was Rs 48.09 crore and PAT Rs 28.7 crore.

• Adjusted PAT excluding extraordinary income rose to Rs 28.7 crore from Rs 22.8 crore in the prior 9-month period.

• Reported PAT and PBT were lower than prior-period totals of Rs 42.75 crore and Rs 58.01 crore, respectively; periods differ and FY02 included land-rights income and JV profit.

Outlook and guidance

• Order book of Rs 3,346 crore was expected to support revenue growth in FY04; guidance targeted profit growth and margins maintained at FY03 levels.

• Tenders awaiting client decisions covered 13 projects worth ~Rs 4,705 crore; six projects worth ~Rs 1,060 crore were prequalified, with bids for 10 further projects worth Rs 9,354 crore under evaluation.

• Further bids for projects worth over Rs 13,633 crore were expected; the stated strategy emphasized selective project wins, efficiency and cost control.