Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the engineering and construction giant, plans to raise $300-400 million from the overseas market to fund its new business. The money will be raised through syndicated loans or private placements of debt by the end of the financial year, said Y M Deosthalee, chief financial officer (CFO), L&T, on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting on Friday.
"L&T will invest Rs 4,000 crore for capital expansion of businesses this financial year, of which about Rs 2,000 crore will be spent in the subsidiaries and joint ventures in power and shipping," said Deosthalee. The company's debt-equity ratio is 3:1.
Chairman A M Naik said the company is planning rapid growth by reorganising the businesses and by emphasising on talent management, technology self-sufficiency, brand-building and a sharper focus on IT in business. "The company has acquired strategic stakes in four key vendors for ensuring availability of raw materials. The aggregate investment for picking up a 26 per cent stake each has cost the company about Rs 50 crore," said Naik.
"We plan to create 12 operating companies within the existing L&T corporate structure. Each operating company will be responsible for its strategic and operational decisions and performance. It will have independent support functions such as finance and accounts, human resource and supply chain management."
The company is expecting a rise in the order backlog to Rs 70,000 crore by March 2009 from the current Rs 58,000 crore. Next year, the order book is expected to add Rs 60,000 crore despite a slowdown. "There is a slowdown in some sectors, for example, construction and refinery. But we will be more than making this up in new areas like railways and power," said Naik.
At the shareholders' meeting, Naik said a weaker industrial activity and a spike in oil prices could affect the ability of capital goods firms to sustain growth, but L&T was looking at new sectors to offset this.
L&T has plans to build 5,000-mw of power generation capacity in the next five years, with the first plant to be commissioned in 2013.
L&T shares closed up 3.5 per cent at Rs 2,589.85 on BSE on Friday.