The Hindu Business Line : UltraTech reports Rs 2.3-cr loss for Q2

ULTRATECH CemCo Ltd has reported a net loss of Rs 2.3 crore for the second quarter and a net loss of Rs 3.3 crore for the half-year ended September 30, 2004, in its first reported results since its listing on the stock exchanges.

The company's performance has been constrained because of input costs, mainly those of power and fuel, said a company release.

The net profit figure for corresponding quarter of the previous year is not available, the company having been a cement division of Larsen & Toubro then, and not yet in the Aditya Birla corporate fold. The net loss during the 2003-04 was Rs 9.25 crore.

A year-on-year sales volumes increase of 2.2 per cent for the quarter, a 20 per cent higher domestic cement realisation, and 34 per cent higher exports realisation, could not set off the rise in input costs.

"The company's Gujarat plant saw rising operational costs as naphtha prices, along with imported coal (80 per cent up) were substantially higher," said the company. Plants at other locations were affected as domestic coal prices shot up by 16 per cent.

Revenues for the quarter stood at Rs 587.8 crore for the quarter, while total expenditure amounted to Rs 493.45 crore. Profit before interest, depreciation and tax amounted to Rs 99.2 crore.

(L&T's segment results during the corresponding quarter of the previous year show cement segment revenues at Rs 629.2 crore, and profit before interest and tax at Rs 12.42 crore.)

Capacity utilisation was sustained at 80 per cent, and sales volumes amounted to 33.44 lakh tonnes during the quarter. Exports, at 22 per cent of this, rose 22 per cent year-on-year, and were driven by improved demand from West Asia.

After providing for interest of Rs 26.9 crore and depreciation of Rs 64.9 crore (including Rs 18.3 crore which was related to earlier years), profit before tax was Rs 7.5 crore.

For the half-year, revenues amounted to Rs 1,267.49 crore.

The company acquired 4,00,00,000 equity shares of Larsen & Toubro Ceylinko (Pvt), amounting to 80 per cent of its share capital, at par for Rs 23.03 crore in May this year, said a statement from it.

The outlook for the full year is positive, said the company. While oversupply and pressure on cement prices would continue, the company's major thrust would be to bring down the cost of sales. Cement demand is expected to grow by 6 per cent, it said.

UltraTech has already begun leveraging synergies with Grasim, particularly in logistics, the benefits of which are expected to flow in during the financial year 2005, said the release. The company is also looking at alternative fuels, it said.