Dalmia Bharat results: Net profit up 29% at Rs 263 crore during Dec quarter

Cement maker Dalmia Bharat reported a 29 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 263 crore for the quarter ended December 2023 (Q3FY24) owing to lower commodity costs and higher volume growth.

Revenue from operations for the same period was up 7 per cent year on year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 3,600 crore. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization, the company said, was at Rs 775 crore, up 20.3 per cent Y-o-Y. Sales volumes for the quarter under review was at 6.8 million tonnes (mt), up 8.1 percent from a year ago. The company beat street expectations. In a Bloomberg poll, 18 analysts had estimated a revenue of Rs 3,523 crore and 16 analysts estimated an adjusted net income of Rs 244 crore.

Margins for Q3FY24 were at 21.5 per cent, the company said. It attributed the margin recovery to stable cement prices, and a correction in commodity prices. 

Puneet Dalmia, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) Dalmia Bharat added, “While we believe that margins may improve further from here on, our focus for next 12-15 months would remain on improving our capacity utilization and delivering industry leading volume growth,” said. As of December, Dalmia Bharat had an operational capacity of 44.6 MT, which the company plans to take to 110-130 MT by 2031.

Net debt levels, the company said, was at Rs 431 crore as of December, 2023.