Mumbai: Profit at Larsen & Toubro (L&T), considered as the bellwether of the country’s infrastructure sector, declined 68% to Rs 537 crore during the first quarter of fiscal 2021 due to the nationwide lockdown induced by Covid-19 that halted manufacturing and construction activities and disrupted labour and supply-chain ecosystem. Profit in the year-ago period was Rs 1,698 crore.
The company would have made a loss in Q1FY21 had it not been for a one-time gain of Rs 225 crore from the sale of its wealth management unit and deferred tax reversal of Rs 307 crore. Revenue fell 28% to Rs 21,260 crore. L&T lost about Rs 12,500 crore of revenue in Q1FY21 due to the lockdown, the management said in their earnings commentary.