L&T will form a subsidiary, L&T Technology Services, to focus on engineering services.

The subsidiary will buy out the engineering segment in L&T Infotech. By April 1, 2014, L&T will transfer the major part of the engineering services within itself to the new entity, said L&T Chairman A.M. Naik.

He was speaking after the conclusion of the company’s AGM here on Thursday.

The restructuring programme is aimed at increasing the focus on engineering services, which L&T is best known for, he added.

Naik said the company was stepping up its efforts outside India as challenges have become more intense in the domestic environment. L&T expects to garner about Rs 25,000 crore from overseas business this year.

“Our order book is at Rs 1.75 lakh crore and we should reach another Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore by the end of the year. Last year, it was Rs 1.55 lakh crore,” he said.

Naik said overseas business would account for about 25 per cent of L&T’s total revenue this year.

The primary focus is West Asia. The company has also started looking at Far East and CIS countries for projects, he said.

On road projects, Naik said the company was extremely selective, and currently, it had not bid for any.

“Nobody is willing to put money into PPP projects and now projects are coming via the EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) route.”

On when he expected the economy to recover, he said it would take well over a year for any improvement.

On the rupee depreciation, R. Shankar Raman, Chief Financial Officer, said the company’s dollar-denominated debt was about 1.5 billion, of which, about 10 per cent was unhedged.

At the group level, total debt stood at Rs 60,000 crore. Most of this was financial services and concession businesses debt, and largely in rupee terms, he added.

shanker.s@thehindu.co.in

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