The Hindu Business Line : UltraTech Q1 net profit triples

UltraTech Cement Ltd, an Aditya Birla group company, has announced that net profit more than tripled for the first quarter ended June 30, 2006, on higher domestic realisation and volumes.

Net profit for the quarter amounted to Rs 210 crore as against Rs 60 crore for the corresponding year-ago quarter. Net sales rose 49 per cent to Rs 1,180 crore from Rs 793 crore.

The company's domestic sales volume of cement grew by 10 per cent, while exports were higher by 16 per cent. Overall sales volumes increased by 12 per cent, amounting to 44.55 lakh tonnes (39.95 lakh tonnes).

The figures for the quarter are not strictly comparable with the year-ago figures since Narmada Cement Company Ltd was amalgamated with the company from October 2005, said a statement.

"Capacity utilisation rose across all units of the company," it said. The effective capacity utilisation for the quarter was 104 per cent, up from 95 per cent a year ago.

Total expenditure increased by 25 per cent to Rs 805 crore (Rs 644 crore). Of this, variable costs rose 8 per cent, while power costs went up by 17 per cent.

Profit before interest depreciation and tax rose 143 per cent to Rs 388 crore (Rs 160 crore). Interest at Rs 23 crore and depreciation at Rs 54 crore were only marginally higher, but tax increased to Rs 100 crore from Rs 27 crore.

Capital expenditure

The board of directors of the company has earmarked capital expenditure of Rs 1,424 crore (to be spent over three years) to address the issue of rising energy costs, said the statement.

Of this, Rs 844 crore is towards installation of captive power plants at the company's units in Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

Also, a sum of Rs 1,274 crore will be spend towards expansion of cement capacity at the company's plant in Andhra Pradesh by 4 million tonnes per annum. A split grinding unit of 1.3 MTPA and a 46-MW captive power plant will also be covered by the capital expenditure. This is to meet the growing demand for cement and to maintain the company's market share in the South, it said.

The company's scrip gained on the bourses on Tuesday, rising by Rs 31 over the trading day to close at Rs 651.95, 4.99 per cent higher than Monday's close.