Ambuja Cements third quarter net profit up 10.9% at Rs 891 crore

Ambuja Cements Ltd, part of Swiss building material major Holcim group (Earlier LafargeHolcim), on Monday reported an increase of 10.85 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 890.67 crore for the third quarter ended September 2021, driven by volume growth.

The company, which follows the January-December financial year, had clocked a net profit of Rs 803.50 crore in the July-September quarter a year ago, Ambuja Cements said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations was up 7.74 per cent at Rs 6,647.13 crore during the quarter as compared to Rs 6,169.47 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Ambuja Cements' total expenses were at Rs 5,543.51 crore, a rise of 7.76 per cent in Q3/2021 compared with Rs 5,144.38 crore in the year-ago period.

The consolidated result of Ambuja Cements also includes the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd. While on a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements' net profit was flat at 441.23 crore as against Rs 440.53 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

However, its standalone revenue from operations rose 13.49 per cent to Rs 3,237.26 crore during the quarter as against Rs 2,852.46 crore a year ago.

Ambuja Cements' sales volume also increased 5.82 per cent to 6 million tonnes as against 5.67 million tonnes in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

According to Ambuja Cements, its "net sales were up by 14 per cent driven by volume growth".

"Total operating cost per tonne increased due to rising input costs notably in fuel. The operational efficiency programmes at the plants along with logistics efficiencies partly mitigated the impact," said Ambuja Cement in a post earning statement.

Commenting on the results, CEO Holcim India and MD & CEO Ambuja Cements Neeraj Akhoury said during the quarter, EBITDA increased by 3.2 per cent despite intense headwinds on fuel costs.

"We are taking all possible steps, under our flagship ICAN programme, to further enhance our productivity to mitigate these headwinds. We will continue to retain focus on premium products which will support margins," he said.

Over the outlook, Ambuja Cements said, domestic activity in India is on an improving trend with the reduction in COVID-19 cases and supported by the increased pace of vaccinations.

"Government's continued focus on capital expenditure and reforms to support growth augur well for domestic demand. Rural demand is expected to be buoyantly backed by the revival in agricultural activity. We remain confident that these will support cement demand in the medium term," it said.

Shares of Ambuja Cement Ltd on Tuesday settled at Rs 380.20 apiece on the BSE, up 1.09 per cent from their previous close.

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