The Hindu Business Line : India Cements Q3 net up at Rs 7.22 cr

INDIA Cements Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 7.22 crore on sales of 411.87 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2005 compared to a loss of Rs 33.31 crore on sales of Rs 319.01 crore for the same period last year.

For the first nine months of this financial year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 18.28 crore on sales of Rs 1,330.48 crore against a loss of Rs 69.14 crore on sales of Rs 988.40 crore for the corresponding period last year.

The company attributed its improved performance to a 20 per cent growth in overall clinker and cement sales backed by a partial recovery in cement prices.

In a press release, the company said that cement demand grew 9 per cent on an all-India basis and 17 per cent in the South during the first nine months of the year.

Despite the monsoon, cement demand went up by 10.3 per cent during the third quarter of the year in the South, it said.

During the first nine months of the year, the company's cement production grew by 34 per cent to 52.99 lakh tonnes from 39.67 lakh tonnes.

The company sold 53.01 lakh tonnes of cement against 39.65 lakh tonnes during the first nine months of last year.

The company raised Rs 496.92 crore during the quarter through issue of global depository shares.

Of this, it used Rs 371.92 crore to repay debt and for other corporate purposes and the balance Rs 125 crore has been placed in fixed deposits in banks.