HCC reports Rs 406 crore consolidated net loss in Q1

Shares of Hindustan Construction Company tumbled 8 per cent to hit an intra-day low of Rs 6.2 on the BSE on Friday after the company on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 406.26 crore for June 2020 quarter (Q1FY21). It had logged a net profit of Rs 99.74 crore in the year-ago period.

The shares of Hindustan Construction Company had jumped leaped 10 per cent in the morning deals today to hit a high of Rs 7.4 apiece, translating into an intra-day fall of 16.2 per cent. A combined 24.92 million shares had changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report.

For Q1FY21, the engineering and construction firm’s total income stood at Rs 1,689.82 crore, compared with Rs 2,815.21 crore in the year-ago quarter. “The revenue of construction companies was impacted by the nationwide lockdown, resulting in halting of construction, non-availability of labour and disruption in the supply chain,” the company said in a statement. It recorded a turnover of Rs 462.3 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, registering a yearly decline of 53 per cent

“The impact of COVID on our industry and economy cannot be understated. We expect the aftershocks to be felt for many months and are altering our business plans accordingly. Our focus has

remained on normalising our operations while working solutions with our Clients, including raising liquidity through conciliations of claims,” Arjun Dhawan, Director & Group Chief Executive Officer said in a statement.

On the upside, HCC secured new projects including Rs 1,900 crore NHAI order to construct a 22 km highway link between Jharkhand and Bihar, Rs 4,167 crore contract for Bhadbhut barrage in Gujarat, and Rs 1,335 crore Rail Vikas Nigam order to construct 8.04 km BG rail line between Rishikesh and Karanprayag in Uttarakhand.

At 1:38 pm, the stock was trading 7 per cent lower at Rs 6.25 per share, as against 0.75 per cent rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex.