 "UltraTech")
Profits for Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech Cement jumped 68 per cent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis for the December 2023-ended quarter (Q3FY24), with the company reporting its highest quarterly profit ever.
Total expenses increase for the cement producer remained benign, rising by 3 per cent Y-o-Y, while net sales grew 8 per cent in the quarter under review.
For Q3FY24, UltraTech’s consolidated net profit was up 68 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,777 crore. Net Sales for the company also rose 8 per cent to Rs 16,740 crore in the same period
“Improved operational efficiencies, coupled with lower fuel and raw material costs resulted in improved EBITDA margins,” the company said in its press statement. The company reported a 16 per cent decline Y-o-Y in its energy costs, which comprises one-third of the company’s overall cost.
Sequentially, UltraTech’s net profit grew 39 per cent, while net sales rose 4.5 per cent in the quarter under review.
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UltraTech, however, missed street expectations. In a Bloomberg poll, 19 analysts estimated a revenue of Rs 16,972 crore for the company and an adjusted net income of Rs 1,817 crore.
Operating EBITDA per tonne, the company said, was at Rs 1,208 for India Operations, up 34 per cent Y-o-Y. EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation.
The country’s largest cement producer reported a 5 per cent growth in cement sale volumes at 26.06 million tonnes in India, its lowest growth rate in this financial year.
In its investor presentation, the company noted, housing-related demand for cement was lower in the northern and eastern markets. The company attributed a mix of state elections, National Green Tribunal ban on construction, and delayed Kharif harvest as reasons leading to this weak demand.
In its demand outlook, the company stated given the government’s focus on infrastructure growth and the consequent rising demand for urban housing, the cement sector is poised for strong growth in the coming years.
