Beginning the current fiscal on a high note, Cera Sanitaryware Ltd on Thursday said its net profit increased 34 per cent and income by 40 per cent in the first quarter ended June 30, 2012, compared with the corresponding period last year.

Better cost management, including energy management due to Cera’s arrangement for gas supply with GAIL, raw material availability and overall efficiency due to work culture, were the reasons for the company’s profits in otherwise disappointing market conditions, an official told Business Line .

On Thursday, Cera Sanitaryware’s share price on the BSE closed 1.21 per cent up at Rs 291.80.

In the first quarter, while the company’s sales were Rs 90.51 crore (Rs 64.64 crore), its profit after tax stood at Rs 9.24 crore (Rs 6.90 crore), the company said here.

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) was Rs 7.30 (Rs 5.45). The profit from operations, before other income and finance costs, totalled Rs 13.47 crore (Rs 10.24 crore), an increase of 31.5 per cent. The profit before tax for the period was Rs 13.80 crore (Rs 10.46 crore), a 32 per cent rise over the PBT of the first quarter of 2011-12.

The company had notched up a net sales income of Rs 319 crore in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.

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