Trading name NSE: LT ISIN INE018A01030 Customer service 022 6177 4200 | ||
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Traded as NSE: LTBSE: 500510BSE SENSEX Constituent Stock price LT (NSE) ₹ 1,493.00 +16.10 (+1.09%)10 Mar, 3:30 PM IST - Disclaimer Subsidiaries Larsen & Toubro Infotech, L & T Mutual Fund Founders | ||
Larsen & Toubro Limited, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multi-national conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was founded by two Danish engineers taking refuge in India. The company has business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing goods, information technology, and financial services, and has offices worldwide.
Contents
- History
- Operating divisions
- LT Realty
- LT Technology Services
- LT Solar
- Electrical and Automation
- Information Technology IT
- Machinery and industrial products
- EWAC Alloys Limited
- Major subsidiaries and joint ventures
- Corporate re structuring
- Listing and shareholding
- Employees
- Awards and recognition
- Allegations of bribery
- Gallery
- References
History
Larsen & Toubro originated from a company founded in 1938 in Bombay (now Mumbai), British India by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck-Larsen and Søren Kristian Toubro. The company began as a representative of Danish manufacturers of dairy equipment. However, with the start of the Second World War in 1939 and the resulting restriction on imports, the partners started a small workshop to undertake jobs and provide service facilities. Germany's invasion of Denmark in 1940 stopped supplies of Danish products. The war-time need to repair and refit ships offered L&T an opportunity, and led to the formation of a new company, Hilda Ltd, to handle these operations. L&T also started to repair and fabricate ships signalling the expansion of the company. The sudden internment of German engineers in British India (due to suspicions caused by the Second World War), who were to put up a soda ash plant for the Tata's, gave L&T a chance to enter the field of installation.
In 1944, ECC was incorporated by the partners; the company at this time was focused on construction projects (Presently, ECC is the construction division of L&T). L&T began several foreign collaborations. By 1945, the company represented British manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture products such as hydrogenated oils, biscuits, soaps and glass. In 1945, the company signed an agreement with Caterpillar Tractor Company, USA, for marketing earth moving equipment. At the end of the war, large numbers of war-surplus Caterpillar equipment were available at attractive prices, but the finances required were beyond the capacity of the partners. This prompted them to raise additional equity capital, and on 7 February 1946, Larsen & Toubro Private Limited was incorporated.
After India's independence in 1947, L&T set up offices in Calcutta (now Kolkata), Madras (now Chennai) and New Delhi. In 1948, 55 acres of undeveloped marsh and jungle was acquired in Powai, Mumbai. A previously uninhabitable swamp subsequently became the site of its main manufacturing hub. In December 1950, L&T became a public company with a paid-up capital of ₹20 lakh (US$30,000). The sales turnover in that year was ₹1.09 crore (US$160,000). In 1956, a major part of the company's Mumbai office moved to ICI House in Ballard Estate, which would later be purchased by the company and renamed as L&T House, its present headquarters.
During the 1960s, ventures included UTMAL (set up in 1960), Audco India Limited (1961), Eutectic Welding Alloys (1962) and TENGL (1963).
Operating divisions
L&T has formed a joint venture with SapuraCrest Petroleum Berhad, Malaysia for providing services to the offshore construction industry. The joint venture will own and operate the LTS 3000, a crane vessel for heavy lifting and pipe-laying.
L&T Power has set up an organisation focused on coal-based, gas-based and nuclear power projects. L&T has formed two joint ventures with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan to manufacture super critical boilers and steam turbine generators.
L&T is among the largest five fabrication companies in the world. L&T has a shipyard capable of constructing vessels of up to 150 metre long and displacement of 20,000 tons at its heavy engineering complex at Hazira, Gujarat. The shipyard constructs specialised heavy-lift ships, CNG carriers, chemical tankers, defence & para-military vessels, submarines and other role-specific vessels.
The design wing of L&T ECC is EDRC (Engineering Design and Research Centre), which provides consultancy, design and services. It carries out basic and detailed design for both residential and commercial projects.
L&T Realty
LnT Realty is the real estate development arm of Larsen & Toubro. The company operates in Western and Southern India, constructing residential, corporate office, retail, leisure and entertainment properties with 35 million sq ft under various stages of development.
L&T Technology Services
L&T Technology Services, a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, is an engineering services company that operates in the global Engineering, Research and Development (“ER&D”) space. L&T Technology Services offers design, development and testing services for the industrial products, medical devices, transportation, aerospace, telecom and process industries. The company serves customers across the product engineering life cycle from product conceptualization to implementation. Services include consulting, design, development, testing, maintenance and to-market integration services.L&T Technology hits the Indian Capital Marets with its IPO offering 10.4 million share at a price band of Rs.850 to Rs.860
L&T Solar
L&T Construction, a subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, undertakes solar energy projects. In April 2012, L&T commissioned India's largest solar photovoltaic power plant (40 MWp) owned by Reliance Power at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan from concept to commissioning in 129 days. In 2011, L&T entered into a partnership with Sharp for EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) in megawatt solar project and plan to construct about 100 MW in the next 12 months in most of the metros. L&T Infra Finance, promoted by the parent L&T Ltd, is also active in the funding of solar projects in India.
Electrical and Automation
L&T is an international manufacturer of electrical and electronic products and systems. The company also manufactures custom-engineered switchboards for industrial sectors like power, refineries, petrochemicals and cement. In the electronic segment, L&T offers a range of metres and provides control and automation systems for industries.
Medical Equipment.
Information Technology (IT)
Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T, offers information technology, software and services with a focus on manufacturing, BFSI and communications and embedded systems. It also provides services for embedded intelligence and engineering .
Machinery and industrial products
L&T manufactures, markets and provides service support for construction and mining machinery, including surface miners, hydraulic excavators, aggregate crushers, loader backhoes and vibratory compactors; supplies rubber processing machinery and manufactures and markets industrial valves and allied products along with application-engineered welding alloys.
EWAC Alloys Limited
EWAC Alloys Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, India. The company is engaged in design & development, manufacture and supply of special welding electrodes, gas brazing rods and fluxes, welding torches and accessories, atomised metal powder alloys, flux cored continuous wires & wire feeders, polymer compounds & wear-resistant plates.
Prof Wasserman, founder of Eutectic Castolin, and Henning Hock Larsen, founder of Larsen & Toubro, founded the Eutectic Division in India in the year 1962. Eutectic Castolin was later merged into the Messer Group of companies, Germany and referred as Messer Eutectic Castolin (MEC). In 2010, Larsen & Toubro Limited, bought the entire stake from Messer to become the wholly owned subsidiary of it. The current headquarters is in Ankleshwar, Gujarat (India), and the products are sold under the name EWAC.
Major subsidiaries and joint ventures
L&T has over 130 subsidiaries and 15 associate companies.
Corporate re-structuring
In January 2011, its Chairman A M Naik announced that the company would be restructured into nine independent virtual companies. with a CEO, CFO and HR head, its own profit and loss account, and board with at least three independent directors. Each board does not have any legal or statutory standing, but merely advises management.
The original nine virtual companies which operated in different segments, were subsequently increased to 12, for which the companies formed are: Building and Factories, Transportation & Infrastructure, Metallurgical & Material Handling, Power Transmission and Distribution, Hydrocarbon and Chemicals, Water, Smart World & Communication, Geo-Structure, Power, Infotech, Finance, Heavy Civil Engineering, and Engineering Services. Hydrocarbon and Chemicals later became a real company, with independent standings and stocks.
Listing and shareholding
The equity shares of the company are listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE). The company’s shares constitute a part of BSE 30 Index of the BSE Limited as well as NIFTY Index of the NSE. Its global depository receipts (GDR) are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange. As on 31 March 2013, Financial institutions held around 30.5% equity shares in L&T. Over 8.5 lakh individual shareholders hold approx 24% of its shares. Foreign Institutional Investors held approx 16.6% shares. Others held approx 29% of the shares. Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest shareholder in the company with 16.45% shareholding.
Employees
As on 31 March 2013, the company (excluding its subsidiaries) had 54,062 permanent employees, out of which 2,635 were women (4.87%) and 74 were employees with disabilities (0.14%). During the FY 2012-13, the company incurred ₹ 4,436 crore for employee benefit, including salaries. As per the news article in November 2016, it had around 109,000 employees after mass firing of 14,000 across all sectors.
Awards and recognition
Allegations of bribery
In 2016 The Huffington Post and The Age reported that Larsen & Toubro was involved in the alleged bribery scandal centered around Unaoil. According to these reports, leaked emails from Unaoil show that a senior executive at Larsen & Toubro was aware that the company had contracted Unaoil to bribe a senior official at Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company for the purpose of winning contracts worth $400 million. By 2011 Larsen & Toubro had won contracts worth $500 million from Abu Dhabi Marine Operating Company. The Vice President of Larsen & Toubro has confirmed that Unaoil was contracted to do some consultancy work, but denies that any payment was made to Unaoil.