Dalmia Bharat Q2 net down 77% on high input costs

Mumbai: Leading cement maker Dalmia Bharat reported a sharp dip in its profit for the second fiscal quarter, in line with the wider cement industry, as high fuel and logistics costs pinched its margins despite a higher revenue. The company’s consolidated profit declined by 77% to Rs 47 crore from the corresponding quarter last year. This, despite a 15% growth in the consolidated top line to Rs 2,971 crore. What hurt the margins was a 76% surge in power and fuel costs. Overall expenses climbed 29% higher year-on-year to Rs 2,980 crore. Subsequently, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 39% to Rs 379 crore while EBITDA margin narrowed by over 11 percentage points to 12.7%. “Despite a steep inflationary environment, we are pleased with our performance during the first half of this year, and we believe that for the industry, the worst is behind,” said Puneet Dalmia, the managing director of Dalmia Bharat Limited. “While the geopolitical turmoil continues, we remain confident on the resilience of the Indian economy as it solidifies its position as a key contributor to the global growth and consumption centre,” he said. The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 4 per share. Its stock ended the day 0.63% lower on the BSE at Rs 1594.5. Benchmark Sensex ended the session 0.35% in the red. The earnings were declared post market hours.