Mumbai, Oct. 15: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) today reported a 32.25 per cent rise in its net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, which did not impress the markets as analysts had forecast a better show. Net profit grew to Rs 460.26 crore in the quarter compared with Rs 348.02 crore in the same period last year.

Analysts had expected L&T to declare profit in the region of Rs 480 crore for the period. Total income of the company stood at Rs 7,842.26 crore against Rs 5,614.51 in the year-ago period.

Lower margins reported by the engineering company added to the disappointment. Analysts said the operating profit margin had dropped to 8.8 per cent from 9 per cent in the year-ago quarter. Both factors impacted the L&T share price, which plummeted 11.7 per cent to Rs 886.

L&T said it was closely monitoring the developments in the global financial markets and their impact on its growth plans in the medium term. The company said it was drawing up mitigation strategies to counter the consequences of investment slowdown, if any, amid deteriorating credit conditions.

HCL show

HCL Technologies Limited today posted a 15.6 per cent rise in quarterly profit on the back of new deals worth $270 million.

Total income of the company grew to Rs 1,175.80 crore from Rs 1,102.86 in the year-ago period. Earnings fell marginally to Rs 254 crore from Rs 264 crore a year ago.