UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla group, got a hit in its net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, due to its large exposure in the southern market - the region which performed the poorest compared to the national growth in terms of demand and realisations.
The company's net profit during the quarter dipped 17.65 per cent to Rs 196 crore from Rs 238 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Its net sales grew marginally to Rs 1,652 crore from Rs 1,531 crore, up 1.3 per cent.
The southern market constitutes around 30 per cent of UltraTech's overall sales. The prices in the region, which had fallen by as high as Rs 70 a 50 kg bag, could scale up only around Rs 10 during the December quarter.
Moreover, the company also witessed drop in clinker export realisation due to reduced off-take in the west Asian markets.
The company produced 4.4 million tonnes of cement in December quarter, up 10 per cent against 3.98 million tonnes produced during the same period last year. However, sale volume of cement jumped 12 per cent during the quarter.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company's stocks had closed weak on Friday at Rs 1,036.75, down 5.9 per cent.