CHENNAI: Murugappa Group firm Carborundum Universal has recorded a sharp jump in consolidated profits for the fourth quarter of 2017-18. According to the financials released by the firm on Friday, consolidated profit after tax stood at Rs 62.90 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2018, a 35.8 per cent increase over the same period last year.
The firm had recorded a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 46.31 crore during the corresponding period the previous year. As for the entire financial year (2017-18), the firm’s consolidated profit after tax surged to Rs 219.59 crore, a 19.4 per cent rise from Rs 183.78 crore registered during the year-ago period. “Consolidated sales (excluding excise duty) for the full year, increased by 12 per cent to Rs 2,330 crore from Rs 2,080 crore, driven by better performance from all the major segments. At a standalone level, the growth was also at 12 per cent,” the company noted. Higher sales volumes recorded during the year also helped certain segments like abrasives and electro minerals see consolidated profitability improve.
The abrasives business witnessed a growth of nine per cent to Rs 1,018 crore during the year, while net sales in the electro-minerals business went up to Rs 883 crore from Rs 749 crore reported during year ago period. Similarly, net sales contributed by the ceramics business went up by 11 per cent to Rs 502 crore. Meanwhile, total income for the last quarter went up to Rs 654.09 crore from Rs 594.14 crore a year ago. For the entire financial year consolidated total income grew to Rs 2,418.09 crore from Rs 2,255.14 crore the previous year. As for capital expenditure, the company spent around Rs 92 crore at the consolidated level during the year.