Larsen & Toubro Ltd.

Understanding these terms

Plain-English explanations of each figure in the table above, and what a beginner typically looks at. These are educational descriptions only, not advice.

Sales

The total value of goods and services a company sold during the period, before any costs are taken out. Also called revenue or "top line".How a beginner reads it: A beginner usually looks at whether sales are rising year after year and how steadily. Steady growth over several years tells a different story than one big jump followed by a flat patch. Compare the trend to the company's own history rather than to an absolute number.

Expenses

The day-to-day operating costs of running the business — raw materials, wages, power, and similar — excluding interest, tax, and depreciation, which are listed separately.How a beginner reads it: A beginner watches whether expenses grow slower than sales. If sales rise 20% but expenses rise only 10%, more of each rupee of sales is left over. Reading expenses next to sales is more useful than reading either alone.

Operating Profit

What is left from sales after subtracting the regular operating expenses, but before interest, tax, and other one-off items. It reflects how much the core business earns.How a beginner reads it: Because it strips out financing and tax effects, a beginner uses it to judge the health of the actual business operations. Watching the multi-year trend shows whether the core business is getting stronger or weaker, separate from how it is financed.

OPM %

Operating Profit Margin — operating profit shown as a percentage of sales. It answers: out of every 100 rupees of sales, how many remain as operating profit?How a beginner reads it: A beginner uses margin to compare profitability across years and against similar companies, because it adjusts for size. A margin that holds steady or drifts up over time reads differently from one that keeps slipping.

Other Income

Income that comes from outside the main business — such as interest earned on deposits, dividends from investments, or one-time gains.How a beginner reads it: A beginner checks whether profit is coming from the real business or from other income. If a large share of profit is "other income", the underlying operations may be earning less than the headline profit suggests.

Interest

The cost a company pays to lenders for borrowed money during the period.How a beginner reads it: A beginner reads interest alongside borrowings and operating profit. If interest eats up a large slice of operating profit, the business has less cushion. Falling interest over time can signal debt being repaid.

Depreciation

A non-cash charge that spreads the cost of long-lived assets (machines, buildings, equipment) over the years they are used, rather than all at once.How a beginner reads it: A beginner remembers that depreciation reduces reported profit but is not cash leaving the company that year. It helps explain why a profitable company's cash flow can differ from its net profit.

Profit before tax

Profit remaining after all expenses, interest, and depreciation, but before income tax is deducted. Often shortened to PBT.How a beginner reads it: A beginner uses PBT to see earnings before the tax rate (which can vary year to year) muddies the comparison. Looking at PBT next to operating profit shows how much interest and other items reduced earnings.

Tax %

The share of pre-tax profit paid as income tax during the period.How a beginner reads it: A beginner notices when the rate looks unusually low or high for a year, which can hint at one-off tax items. A roughly stable tax rate makes year-to-year profit comparisons cleaner.

Net Profit

The final profit left after every cost, interest, tax, and depreciation — the "bottom line" that belongs to shareholders.How a beginner reads it: A beginner looks at the multi-year trend and how it tracks against sales. Net profit growing in step with sales reads differently from net profit boosted mainly by one-off or non-operating items.

EPS in Rs

Earnings Per Share — net profit divided by the number of shares, showing the profit attributable to each single share, in rupees.How a beginner reads it: A beginner uses EPS to track profit on a per-share basis, which accounts for any change in share count. Rising EPS over time is a common thing readers look for; pairing it with the share price gives the P/E ratio.

Dividend Payout %

The share of net profit paid out to shareholders as dividends, rather than kept inside the company.How a beginner reads it: A beginner reads this to understand how a company splits profit between rewarding shareholders now and reinvesting for growth. Neither a high nor low payout is inherently better — it depends on whether the company has good uses for the retained cash.