Markets were disappointed as the profits excluding the above two items lagged estimates. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 458.59 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Its revenues for the quarter under review increased 10 per cent to Rs 18,974.75 crore from Rs 17,241.14 crore in the year-ago period.

"The two-fold increase in PAT is a due to an expectational gain of Rs 249.28 crore on divestment of strategic investment in City Union Bank and stake sale in L&T Finance Holdings, which was listed in 2011. Stake sale in L&TFH was necessitated to comply with Sebi regulations to reduce promoter share," Group Chief Financial Office R Shankar Raman said.

Worries that bulk of its orders were coming in from international orders and reports by company executives that demand in the Indian markets continued to remain sluggish, affected sentiments.

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