Guj Ambuja net up 108% to Rs 299 cr

BS 200 SCORECARD

Buoyed by price and volumes surge on the back of strong demand, Gujarat Ambuja Cements (GACL) today reported 108 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 298.59 crore for its third quarter ended March 2006 compared with Rs 143.11 crore in the same period last year.

Total income went up by 39 per cent to Rs 924.29 crore from Rs 667.24 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's operating profit rose 81 per cent to Rs 375.14 crore during the quarter as against Rs 207.57 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The country's third largest cement maker sold 3.65 million tonne of cement compared with 3.19 million tonne in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, an increase of over 14 per cent.

On a consolidated basis, GACL more than doubled its net profit at Rs 315.70 crore during the quarter as against Rs 155.60 crore in the year-ago period. Turnover was up 5 per cent to Rs 945.75 crore from Rs 898.74 crore and operating profit has gone up by 52 per cent to Rs 392.76 crore from Rs 258.76 crore.

"Despite a 25 per cent increase in freight costs, the operating margin, excluding non-recurring income has increased to 37 per cent. This is on account of all round improvement in the productivity and the efficiencies of the operations coupled with increased sales realisation," said Jayesh Doshi, vice-president, treasury.

The company also announced an interim dividend of 50 per cent. Its scrip rose 8.28 per cent at the Bombay Stock Exchange to end the day at Rs 117.75, from Rs 108.75 over its previous close.

"We are witnessing robust construction growth, and with the infrastructure development set to gain momentum cement demand is expected to grow at 10 per cent this year," said Doshi.