Ultratech Cement has said its net income fell a full 36 percent to Rs 820 crore for the September quarter, missing estimates by a wide margin. The numbers were impacted by falling prices and project delays due to an extended monsoon. Brokerages were pegging the largest cement maker to post a net income of Rs 1,062 crore.
The cement maker’s revenue from operations in the reporting quarter fell 2.3 percent on-year to Rs 15,635 crore, down from Rs 16,012 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, which though is marginally better than the Street estimate of Rs 15,579 crore, the Aditya Birla Group company said in a statement Monday.
Its domestic grey cement sales of 25.75 million tonnes were up 3 percent over the corresponding quarter last year, but down a sharp 15 percent over the June quarter, impacted by the general elections, heatwaves, and the resultant unavailability of labour.
During the quarter, domestic grey cement realisations were Rs 4,901/tonne, down massively from Rs 5,349 on-year, and from Rs 5,045 in the June quarter, reflecting continued weakness in pricing.
While operating profit fell by 18 percent to Rs 2,239 crore, operating margin shrunk to 13 percent from 16 percent.
With the completion of the ongoing expansion projects across the country by FY27, and receipt of statutory approvals for the acquisitions of Kesoram Cement (10.75 mt) and India Cements (14.45 mt), Ultratech’s capacity will surpass 200 mt by FY27.