Shree Cement Limited on May 21 reported a 16 percent decline in standalone net profit of Rs 645 crore in the fourth quarter of FY22, as against Rs 768 crore recorded a year ago. On a sequential basis, the profit increased by 31 percent from Rs 492 crore earned during the October–December period.
Standalone revenues for the Rajasthan-based cement major rose 3.6 percent on-year to Rs 4,099 crore as compared to a revenue of Rs 3,958 crore registered in the year-ago quarter. On a sequential basis, the revenue was 15.4 percent higher from Rs 3,552 crore recorded in the previous quarter, according to the exchange filing from Shree Cement.
The year-on-year decline in profit was due to surge in power and fuel costs, along with the high base of last year’s quarter. Meanwhile, the sequential growth was aided by higher volumes and better realizations during the quarter.
For the full-year period from April – March 2022, the standalone PAT witnessed a growth of 2.8 percent to Rs 2,377 crore from Rs 2,312 crore achieved during FY21.
Standalone revenues for FY22 jumped 13 percent to Rs 14,306 crore from the revenues of Rs 12,669 crore for last year.
The cost of raw materials as a percentage of revenues declined 70 bps on year to 6.6 percent. On a sequential basis, the saving was 140 bps.
Employee costs as a percentage of revenue witnessed a steady decline both on year and quarter-on-quarter basis to 4.8 percent, compared to 6.2 percent during the same period last year and 5.5 percent during the previous quarter, said Shree Cement.
The rise in energy prices have inflated the power bill for the company 10.1 percent on year and 3.4 percent on quarter. The power cost as a percentage of revenue came in at 26.2 percent during the quarter.
The impact of rise in crude oil prices was visible in the rising freight and forwarding charges compared to previous quarter to 23 percent, a sequential increase of 1.5 percent. On a yearly basis, however, the freight cost declined by 1.1 percent.
On February 1, the company started commercial operations of its clinker grinding unit at Patas in Pune District having a capacity of 3.0 MTPA (million tonnes per annum). On March 28, it started the commercial operations of its 12,000 tpd (tons per day) or 4MTPA clinker unit (kiln 3) at Beloda Bazar in Raipur district.
The company has recommended a final dividend of Rs 45 per equity share of Rs 10 each for the financial year ended March 2022.
Shree Cement ended Rs 215.15 lower at Rs 22,001.20 on May 20 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock has declined 20 percent during the past one year and is down 14 percent over the past one month.