Aided by lower costs, Adani Group-promoted Ambuja Cements on Wednesday reported its consolidated net profit for the December 2023 ended quarter (Q3FY24) at Rs 823 crore, up 89.5 per cent from a year ago. The company reported a modest increase of 3 per cent in its sales volume for the third quarter.
Growth in revenue from operations was at 2.8 per cent on a year on year (Y-o-Y) basis at Rs 8,129 crore. The consolidated sales volume for the company was at 14.1 million tonne (MT), (which includes volumes for subsidiary company ACC), up from 13.7 MT a year ago. The company beat Street expectations. In a Bloomberg poll, seven analysts estimated a revenue of Rs 6,762 crore, and a net income adjusted of Rs 817 crore.
Sequentially, net profit for the company was up 3.8 per cent, while revenue rose 9.5 per cent. Reported profit after tax for the company was at Rs 1,090 crore, up 123 per cent from a year ago.
In its results commentary statement, the company said, that consolidated Ebitda per tonne for the quarter under review was at Rs 1,225 against Rs 744 a year ago. Ebitda margin, the company said, was at 21.3 per cent for the quarter under review, its highest in the last ten quarters. “Ebitda margins have grown higher than revenue growth given the sharp improvement in operating costs,” the company said. Ebitda is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation.
Ambuja Cements board of directors on Wednesday also approved capacity expenditure plans for 12 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), which will take the company’s cement capacity to 110 MTPA. Adani Cement, along with Ambuja Cements and ACC, plans to touch 140 MTPA of capacity by FY28. As of December 2023, the group’s cement capacity stood at 77.4 MTPA.