India Cements, a South-based cement maker, has posted a decline of 43.79 per cent in its net profit for the quarter ended December, 2009 at Rs 34.8 crore compared with Rs 61.91 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. The company’s net sales during the quarter stood at Rs 864.12 crore against Rs 754.82 crore last year, up 14.48 per cent.
Lesser profits were mainly on account of decline in realisation and relatively less demand in the southern market.
The company’s total expenditure shot up to Rs 804.90 crore during the quarter under review from Rs 625.95 crore, up 28.59 per cent. The major chunk of Rs 250.85 crore was for power and fuel costs.
The earning per share (EPS) stood at Rs 1.23 against Rs 2.20 in the previous corresponding quarter.
The company’s performance is in line with what was seen with another cement major UltraTech Cement, which witnessed a decline of 18 per cent in its net profit due to a dip of around Rs 200 in realisations per tonne.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, stocks of India Cements were trading at Rs 115.15, down 2.66 per cent at IST 1344 on Monday.