India’s biggest engineering and construction firm Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) on Thursday said first quarter (Q1) profit more than tripled after it sold stake in a cement maker.

Profit rose to Rs1,598 crore in the three months ended June from Rs502 crore a year ago, Mumbai-based L&T said in a statement. Sales rose 7% to Rs7,363 crore.

Profit would have risen 15% to Rs578 crore without the Rs1,020 crore earned from selling the 11.49% stake in UltraTech Cement Ltd in June, L&T executive vice-president R. Shankar Raman said on Thursday. The median estimate of five analysts in a Bloomberg survey was Rs572 crore.

The global recession and the ensuing credit crunch prompted companies and governments to extend deadlines for completing projects, including power plants, highways and refineries. Full-year sales may rise 15-20%, about half the pace of the previous year, Raman said, reiterating chief financial officer YM Deosthalee’s 30 June forecast.
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