Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro Ltd will go ahead with the first of the three proposed initial public offers of its group companies in 2009-10, its chairman and managing director A M Naik said.

''It's most likely that the first of the three to get listed will be our information technology arm,'' he said, adding the listing will depend on market conditions, and that there would be an IPO every year for the other two companies.

L&T also unveiled plans to invest to the tune of Rs2,500 crore for beefing up capacities at its growth centres during the current fiscal.

The investments, to be made across all locations, will also go towards setting up a ship building yard in Tamil Nadu, Naik said.

L&T's joint ventures with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for the manufacture of super critical boilers and turbine generators, involving investments of around Rs1,000 crore each, would be operational within the next 12 to 18 months, he said.     

L&T holds 51 per cent in the JV, Mitsubishi controls the remaining 49 per cent. The company, he said, was also looking for acquisitions.     

L&T is also in the process of concluding agreements with two real estate developers to undertake construction projects. ''Both the projects will involve an investment of over Rs5,000 crore to be executed in five years,'' Naik said.

L&T's net profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 went up 38 per cent, with its engineering and construction divisions reporting higher revenues and margins, overcoming an otherwise adverse quarter of rising prices.

Engineering and construction accounts for over three-fourths of the company's revenues.

L&T, Naik said, was expecting sales growth of 30 per cent during the current financial year.     

The company reported a higher operating margin of 15.7 per cent for the fourth quarter of the last fiscal. Quarterly and annual margins were higher because of the company's policy on taking on new jobs, about 60 per cent of which were on a cost-plus basis.

A well-thought selection of orders and timely execution pumped margins, according to Y M Deosthalee, chief financial officer.

L&T also announced a one-for-one bonus issue, which saw its stock soar by almost 7 per cent.