Elecon Engineering Company Limited hit a day high of Rs 440.05 on 22 October, up 1%, as its Rs 1,635 crore order book stayed in focus.

Put simply, Elecon has plenty of work booked and still waiting to be delivered. Its open orders stood at Rs 1,635 crore on 30 September, up 33% from a year earlier.

Most of that sits with the gear business, where orders worth Rs 1,056 crore are pending, up 37%.

The material handling arm builds machines that move bulk material around industrial sites and ports. Its pending orders are Rs 579 crore, up 27.3%.

The company told analysts on 15 October that it expects revenue to grow by around 15% in the October to March half of this financial year.

It also aims to keep its operating profit margin, which is the share of each rupee of sales left after running costs, at or above where it stood last year.

Management expects work on the ground to speed up after Diwali. Monsoon delays and choppy steel prices slowed projects in recent months.

The latest quarter backs that up. Revenue for July to September rose 10.5% to Rs 639 crore, while net profit grew 9.8% to Rs 96 crore.

Overseas sales did even better, climbing 30.6% to Rs 159 crore, and the material handling arm won export orders worth about $9 million in the first half.

Shareholders also have an interim dividend of Re 0.50 a share, which went ex-dividend on 21 October.

Its long-term credit rating outlook has been raised to positive from stable. It also holds net cash of around Rs 700 crore.

The gains did not last. Elecon closed at Rs 428.80 on NSE, down 1.03% from the previous close, after a low of Rs 427. Over the past year, the stock has lost 22.56%. Its 52-week high is Rs 579.

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