Mumbai, Oct 18: Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Monday reported a 32 percent rise in net profits at Rs. 765 crore for the quarter ended Sep 30, compared to Rs. 580 crore in the previous corresponding quarter.

Gross sales increased 18 percent to Rs. 9,342 crore, while the order book grew 11 percent, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The total order book in the first six months of the current fiscal stood at Rs. 115,393 crore, up 29 percent from the like period of 2009-10.

Sales from the engineering and construction segment, the main breadwinner for the company, grew 18 percent to Rs. 7,861 crore, while that from the machinery and industrial products rose 37 percent to Rs. 681 crore.

Earnings per share went up from Rs. 9.90 in the previous corresponding quarter to Rs. 11.48 in the three-month period ended Sep 30.

In its outlook for the remaining part of the fiscal, L&T said it was hopeful of more orders from a host of sectors, but said higher inflationary trends was a challenge.

It, however, said revenue growth would be sustained in the near-to-medium term.

The L&T scrip was ruling 0.93 percent lower at Rs. 1,971 in afternoon trade, having slipped from an intra-day high of Rs. 2,004. (IANS)