Grasim Industries, an Aditya Birla group company, has reported 14 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at ₹728 crore (₹640 crore).

The company has not included the financial performance of its subsidiaries Idea Cellular and other companies which are yet to announce their results.

Hence, the proportionate share of Idea’s net profit for Q3 FY-17 and Q3 FY-16 has not been consolidated in Grasim’s results, said the company in a statement on Monday. Grasim reported one per cent rise in revenue at ₹9,577 crore (₹9,497 crore).

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up seven per cent at ₹1,878 core (₹1,762 crore) on better viscose staple fibre (VSF) realisation.

EPS (diluted) stood at ₹15.58 against ₹13.71.

The company is in the process of seeking requisite regulatory approvals for the composite scheme of merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo with Grasim and listing the financial services business.

The scheme has been approved by the relevant stock exchanges and the Competition Commission of India. Application has been filed with the National Company Law Tribunal. The transaction is expected to be completed by the first half of FY-18, it said.

The revenue from VSF business increased 10 per cent to ₹1,762 crore, while EBITDA was up 31 per cent at ₹402 crore (₹308 crore) on back of better realisation and operating efficiency.

Despite slow down in domestic demand due to demonetisation, VSF production was up one per cent at 1.22 lakh tonnes on robust export orders. The uptrend in global VSF prices and rupee depreciation helped the company improve its profitability.

Caustic soda production was down five per cent at 1.93 lakh tonnes due to lower demand. Revenue from chemical business was up seven per cent at ₹921 crore on better realisation. Caustic soda production capacity is set to increase from 8.40 lakh tonnes per annum to 10.48 lakh tonnes next financial year through the brownfield expansion at Vilayat.

The company has received environmental clearance and the civil work is expected to begin soon, it said.

Revenue from cement business was down two per cent at ₹6,761 crore due to tough market condition post-demonetisation of high value currency.

The company’s scrip were up four per cent at ₹970 crore on Monday.

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