 "India Cements posts net profit of Rs 40 crore")
N Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director of India Cements said that it was a better and improved quarter and the price is also settling down. Prices increased by Rs 600 per tonne year on year to Rs 3,930 a tonne from Rs 3,312 per tonne.
The total income from operations stood at Rs 1,075.45 crore during the quarter, as against Rs 1234.82 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year, a drop of 12.9%. The capacity utilistation has dropped to 58% from 67%.
On the demand side, he said, offtake has not gone up. Demand in Andhra Pradesh and Telegana is likely to be increased from January, which will push the utilisation of the company.
South continued to reel under pressure with a negative growth in production of more than 12% during the first quarter over and above the negative growth witnessed in the previous year.
With the capacity over hand in the south, the utilisation levels continued to be sub 60% as compared to 70% usage on an all India basis. Increasing cost of in-put materials, supplemented by increase in railway freight, royalty, increase in clean energy cess all added to the cost of production. With a marginal relief by way of reduction in petroleum products prices and with the relatively stable selling prices, the industry and the company in the south could turn out a resonable bottom line despite the poor capacity utilisation on account of market factors.
Total sale of cement was 20.81 lakh tonnes during the first quarter ended June 2015 as compared to 23.91 lakh tonne a year ago, a drop of 13%.
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With the improvement in net plant relisation (NPR) per tonne to Rs 3,930 as compared to Rs 3,312 a tonne, the EBIDTA was at Rs 199 crore as compared to Rs 166 crore despite the volume loss.
The interest charges were lower at Rs 90 crore as against Rs 99 crore and the depreciation was lower at Rs 55 crore against Rs 66 crore resulting ina profit before extra-ordinary item of Rs 54 crore against a profit of Rs 74 lakh in the previous year.