CHENNAI: The India Cements Ltd on Wednesday said the cement-maker reported standalone profit for the quarter ending September 30, 2021 at Rs 21.97 crore. The city-based company registered a standalone profit at Rs 71.43 crore during the corresponding quarter last year.
For the six-month period ending September 30, 2021, the standalone net stood at Rs 59.39 crore against Rs 88.39 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The standalone total income for the quarter under review grew to Rs 1,193.35 crore from Rs 1,075.45 crore registered a year ago.
For the half-year ending September 30, 2021, the standalone total income rose to Rs 2,218.89 crore from Rs 1,835.77 crore registered in the corresponding period last year. In a statement, the company said the COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted businesses within the country and abroad.
The regular business operations have been disrupted during the quarter and the half-year due to lockdowns, restrictions in transport and supply chain disruptions and other emergency measures imposed by the government.
The company said that the pandemic affected the normal business operations, production, sales and profitability. "The quarter (under review) also witnessed cost pressure through increase in price of fuel and ever-increasing prices of petroleum products. However, the company could turn out a reasonable performance through an increase in volume in the extended marketing zones", the company said.
The cement production during the quarter improved by 8 per cent and for the half-year ending September 30, 2021, it was up by 21 per cent at 41.22 tonne against 34.07-lakh tonne. The extended marketing zones during this period helped improve dispatches with an overall sale of 23.60 lakh tonnes for the quarter ending September 30, 2021, against 21.07 lakh tonnes last year.
The loss of volume in the core markets together with the increase in the price of coal and dilution of selling prices resulted in the EBITDA (earnings before interest taxes and amortization) margin coming down during this quarter, the company said.
The overall volume for the half-year ending September 30, 2021 was 43.05 lakh tonne against 35.35-lakh tonne registered the same period last year. The average net plant realisation for the quarter ending September 30, 2021 was down by 4 per cent and for the half year by 5 per cent. "This was on account for a reduction in EBITDA of Rs 40 crore for the quarter under review and Rs 87 crore for the six-month period ending September 30, 2021," the company said.
On the outlook, the company said the economic recovery gaining momentum in terms of various high frequency economic indicators besides the pick-up in consumption and investment demand. "...a normal rainfall is predicted during the North-East monsoon. This is expected to improve the prospects of rural economy and creating more demand," the company said.
The company added that the demand for cement was expected to remain on track with the Centre and State giving a push to infrastructure spending and affordable housing.