Railway consultancy firm RITES reported a 59 percent jump in its standalone net profit to Rs 116.75 crore for the quarter ended September 30, mainly on the back of growth in its consultancy business.
The company had clocked a standalone profit of Rs 73.24 crore for the corresponding quarter in the year-ago period, it said in a filing to the BSE.
Its total revenue rose to Rs 473.23 crore during the quarter under review, against Rs 245.13 crore a year ago.
The total expenditure rose to Rs 299.02 crore, from Rs 161.11 crore in the year-ago period.
Rajeev Mehrotra, chairman and managing director, RITES said, "The company has recorded a total income of Rs 473 crore in the Q2FY19, up by 93 percent over Q2FY18. The increase was mainly contributed by increased consultancy and turnkey business which has grown by Rs 132 crore and Rs 104 crore, respectively. Domestic leasing business has also grown by 23 percent."
"Consultancy business has contributed about 67 percent of the operating turnover and income from the consultancy has increased by 83 percent to Rs 292 crore in Q2FY19, against the corresponding last quarter revenue of Rs 160 crore," the company said in a statement.
The company's income from construction projects has increased significantly by Rs 104 crore to Rs 116 crore in the quarter under review, against Rs 12 crore a year ago, it added.
Its standalone order book stands at Rs 6,183 crore as of September 30, which is expected to be executed over the next one to three years. This order book includes export order book of Rs 1,284 crore. The present export order book is likely to be executed in two to 2.5 years, it said.
On outlook for FY2018-19, Mehrotra said, "Based on the order book and half yearly performance of the company, I expect, the company will achieve targeted 22 per cent operating revenue growth over last year."
He also added that the first consignment of DMU train set for Sri Lanka will be shipped shortly. Also, one prototype locomotive from DLW is on the way for shipment to Sri Lanka.
The company's board also approved in principle an investment of Rs 50 crore in equity capital of Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation, a company promoted by IRCON and Rail Land Development Authority. The firm plans to provide engineering services for station development projects.
RITES is a Miniratna Public Sector Enterprise and a leading player in the transport consultancy and engineering sector in India, having diversified services and geographical reach.
Source: moneycontrol.com