UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company, has reported 35 per cent increase in March quarter net profit at ₹2,259 crore against ₹1,670 crore logged in the same period last year on lower cost and higher sales volume.

Income was up nine per cent at ₹20,555 crore (₹18,784 crore). The board has recommended a dividend of ₹70 per equity, aggregating to total payout of ₹2,021 crore.

Sales volume was up 11 per cent at 35 million tonnes in the quarter under review. Ebitda was up 23 per cent at ₹4,250 crore (₹3,444 crore). Realisation was down 4 per cent at ₹5170 a tonne (₹5,373 a tonnes).

Overall cost was ₹17,381 crore (₹16,293 crore) with power and fuel expense falling to ₹4,839 crore (₹5,309 crore). Logistics cost dipped two per cent at ₹1,226 a tonne (₹1,251)

The company anticipates that demand for cement will continue to remain robust across all sectors.

Sustainable initiatives

During the year, UltraTech has added 13.27 mtpa grey cement capacity across locations. It further commissioned greenfield cement capacities at Karur, Tamil Nadu and Kukurdih, Chhattisgarh of 2.7 mtpa each, aggregating to 5.4 mtpa in April.

The company acquired a 0.54 mtpa cement grinding asset of Burnpur Cement Ltd., marking its entry in Jharkhand. With the acquisition of the Parli grinding unit from India Cements, the ongoing expansion of 36.2 mtpa across locations and the proposed acquisition of Kesoram Cement, UltraTech’s grey cement capacity will stand augmented to 199.6 mtpa, including its overseas capacity of 5.4 mtpa.

Also read: Tata Chem logs net loss of ₹841 crore on impairment charges

During the quarter, the company commissioned additional 156 MW of solar power taking its total capacity to 612 MW in addition to waste heat recovery systems of 278 MW. The company meets 23.6 per cent of its power requirements through green power sources.

UltraTech completed a 100 MW solar energy project under the group captive scheme in Rajasthan. This is the company’s first project for sourcing power for its captive consumption from the inter-state transmission network.

Power from this project will be available to the units in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha among others. This project is part of the company’s commitment to increase green power mix to 85 per cent by 2030.

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