Hindustan Construction Company?s (HCC) standalone net loss narrowed to R50 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013, against R54 crore in the year-ago period.

However, the total income of the company declined by a sharp 15% to nearly R983 crore against about R1,156 crore in the year-ago period. HCC CMD Ajit Gulabchand said in a statement that he was disappointed with the company’s annual performance, which was due to operating in a ?disastrous economic environment?. Amid a high debt of R4,600 crore at the end of March 31, 2013, Gulabchand said the company will be monetising assets in the coming year. ?A monetisation of assets in the coming year will accelerate the necessary deleveraging of our balance sheet,? he said.

HCC?s operating margin in the fourth quarter stood at 9.1%, an increase over same quarter last year. However, operating profit for the full year ended March 31, 2013, fell sharply to about R383 crore against R443 crore last year.

The company has narrowed its consolidated net loss for the full year ended March 31, 2013, to R482 crore against a net loss of R530 crore last year. The consolidated total income during the year increased a mere 4% to R8,510 crore against R8,158 crore last year.

?Our annual performance has resulted from operating in a disastrous economic environment made worse by fears in decision-making that have delayed realisation of payments and clearances of projects,? says Gulabchand.

He said that a large lockup in claims and a fall in visible order book were major causes for concern for the infrastructure industry. HCC;s order book stood at R14,935 crore at the end of FY13, down from R15,336 crore in FY12.

The company secured five new orders worth R2,478 crore during the year.

?Projects worth R10 lakh crore have been stalled and we are hopeful that the finance minister?s recent efforts will restart these projects. HCC is geared up to implement prudent measures aimed at efficient project management and tight control over costs in this lean phase,? Gulabchand said.

The company registered y-o-y increase in L1 contracts. At the end of 2012-2013, HCC had L1 contracts worth R2,265 crore, up from R1,713 crore last year. HCC?s share price closed down 1.76% at R13.99 at the BSE on Friday.