NEW DELHI: UltraTech Cement on Wednesday reported a 31 per cent YoY fall in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 423 crore for the quarter ended September 30, hurt by increased depreciation cost and interest outgo.

The cement maker had reported a net profit of Rs 614 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

September quarter was the first quarter following the company's acquisition of Jaiprakash Associates' six integrated cement plants and five grinding units, with a capacity of 21.2 million tonnes.

The company said that it infused the much-needed working capital during the quarter and that since the acquisition was done on the onset of monsoons, there was acute shortage of sand in most markets, which impacted the performance of the company.

Net sales for the quarter jumped to Rs 6,840 crore from Rs 5,708 crore in the year-ago quarter.

On standalone basis, the company reported a profit of Rs 431 crore, compared with Rs 601 crore in the year ago quarter. Standalone sale for the quarter rose to Rs 6,478 crore from Rs 5,397 crore in the same quarter last year.

At 1.55 pm, the stock was trading 2.19 per cent higher at Rs 4,177.75.

The operations of the acquired assets have been Ebitda accretive, the company said, adding that it is now focusing on increasing its presence in the newly acquired markets and ramping up sales.