Kolkata: Cement manufacturer Birla Corporation Ltd on Saturday reported 97.7% decline in its net profit to Rs1.46 crore in the quarter ended 30 September due to higher expenses. The company reported a net profit of Rs65.43 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Revenue from operations increased 14.41% to Rs1,235.49 crore in the quarter under review compared to Rs1,079.83 crore in the year-ago period. Other income fell 73.56% to Rs11.90 crore in the July-September quarter of the current fiscal from Rs45.02 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Total expenses increased 17.64% to Rs1,247.11 crore in Q2FY18 as against Rs1,060.02 crore in Q2FY17. Finance cost almost doubled to Rs105.31 crore during the quarter under review from Rs52.69 crore in the year-ago period.
In its BSE filing, the company reported its revenue from cement business increased 18.68% to Rs1,159.72 crore in the September quarter as against Rs977.14 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, while revenue from jute business fell 25.64% to Rs74.29 crore in the period under review from Rs99.91 crore in the year-ago period.
Shares of Birla Corp. closed 0.55% up, or 6.65 points, to Rs1,216.35 on Friday while the Sensex index closed 0.19% up, or 63.63, to 33,314.56.