India Cements reports a net profit of Rs36.6 crore in Q4
The company benefited from a rise in the price of the building material and earned more for every tonne it sold
India Cements Ltd reported a net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with a loss a year ago, as it benefited from a rise in the price of the building material and earned more for every tonne it sold.
The Chennai-based company posted a net profit of ₹ 36.6 crore in the quarter ended 31 March; in the year-ago period, it had a loss of ₹ 157 crore.
The net profit fell short of analyst’s expectations. A poll of 21 analysts by Bloomberg had estimated that the Chennai-based company would report a net profit of ₹ 41crore.
The cement maker’s revenue fell 7.2%, to ₹ 1,043 crore from ₹ 1,124.6 crore.
Cement prices have improved, boosting earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda), said N. Srinivasan, vice-chairman and managing director. India Cements’ Ebitda margin, a key indicator of operating profitability, jumped to 19% from 10.27% a year ago.
India Cements benefited from higher price realization, said Shrenik Gujarathi, a research analyst tracking the cement industry at Angel Broking Pvt. Ltd, although revenue declined due to weak demand in southern India. Lower-than-expected power, fuel and freight costs improved its operating margin.
The company’s price realization improved to ₹ 3,880 per tonne of cement from ₹ 3,060 a tonne.
“We are seeing signs of recovery in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as the government has proposed a requirement of 2 million tonne of cement for housing and irrigation projects," he said.
This is apart from the cement requirements for building a new capital for Andhra Pradesh, which was bifurcated a year ago when Telangana was granted full statehood. Currently, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana consume about 1.3 million tonnes a month. India Cements has four factories in the two states.
For the full fiscal year 2014-15, the company reported a net profit of ₹ 29.4 crore compared with a loss ₹ 162.4 crore in the previous year. Revenue declined 9.7% to ₹ 4,454 crore from ₹ 4,496.81 crore.
India Cements shares closed at ₹ 91.70, down by 0.70%, while the BSE’s benchmark Sensex rose 1.17% to 27,828.44 points.
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