The Ramco Cements Ltd reported a 59 per cent drop in standalone profit after tax at ₹83 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, compared with ₹201 crore in the year-ago period, due to higher cost of operations.
Its profit before tax fell 62 per cent to ₹113 crore (₹298 crore).
Net revenue for the December 2021 quarter grew 16 per cent to ₹1,556 crore (₹1,345 crore). However, EBIDTA fell 41 per cent to ₹238 crore compared to ₹403 crore in the year-ago quarter due to a sharp increase in fuel price and drop in cement prices, according to a statement.
Blended EBIDTA per tonne was ₹790 as against ₹1,543. Operating ratio was 15 per cent as against 30 per cent in Q3 of previous fiscal.
The industry could not pass on the cost increase arising out of sharp fuel price hike, to its customers in view of weak demand that persisted during the quarter, due to various reasons such as monsoon, festivals and Covid implications, it said.
The average increase in diesel prices by 22 per cent during the third quarter resulted in an increase in inbound / outbound logistics costs. The spot prices of pet coke per tonne also peaked to $250 in October 2021 and the current spot CIF price is around $150. The spot prices of imported coal from Indonesia have gone to the unprecedented level of $225 per tonne in October and gradually softened to $110 in December.
Fuel prices
Since the fuel prices have peaked out during this quarter, the power & fuel cost per tonne of cement for Q3 sharply increased to ₹1,380 from ₹818 in Q3 of the previous year.
However, the operations of 18 MW WHRS in Jayanthipuram have helped to moderate the overall power & fuel cost to a certain extent. In respect of the balance 9 MW WHRS, one boiler was commissioned during November 2021 to generate 5 MW of power from waste heat is under stabilisation. The other boiler is expected to be commissioned in April this year.
During the third quarter of this fiscal, sale of cement was 3.01 million tonnes as compared to 2.61 million tonnes in the year-ago period, an increase of 15 per cent. The company has launched its new product Super Plaster in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh markets after its launch in Tamil Nadu in September 2021 quarter.