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January 17 UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company, reported that its net profit in the December quarter was up 8 per cent to ₹1,710 crore against ₹1,585 crore logged in the same period last year on the back of one-time tax write-back of ₹535 crore.
Revenue from operation was up six per cent at ₹12,985 crore ( ₹12,262 crore). The company repaid ₹3,459 crore loan through internal accruals and reduced exposure to the floating interest rate.
After gaining pace in October, cement demand slowed down substantially in November across the country. Though pet coke and international coal prices softened in the quarter, they were higher than last year. Diesel prices increased 24 per cent despite the recent cut in levies by the state and central governments.
The company commissioned 19 MW of waste heat recovery system (WHRS) and 53 MW of solar power to increase the share of green energy to 16 per cent. It has 156 MW of WHRS and 221MW of solar power.
Capex
The company plans to invest ₹965 crore towards the modernisation and expansion of Birla White, taking the production capacity to 12.53 lakh tonnes per annum from 6.5 ltpa. The capacity expansion will help reduce dependence on high-cost imports, it said.
UltraTech commenced operations from its seventh bulk terminal at Kalamboli, Navi Mumbai. The other six are located in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana.
With a capacity to handle 1.2 mtpa cement and considering the large infrastructure development projects in Mumbai, the new terminal will increase its bulk cement sales. Cement will be brought in bulk rakes to this terminal from its various manufacturing units at lower freight costs through railways.
The company commissioned Line II of the Bara Grinding Unit in Uttar Pradesh, having a cement capacity of 2 mtpa. The line I was earlier commissioned last January is operating at over 80 per cent capacity utilisation. UltraTech Cement has enhanced its overall production capacity by 3.2 mtpa to 114.55 mtpa in this fiscal.
With the onset of the peak season and rising construction activities, cement demand is expected to revive in Q4FY22, driven by government-led infrastructure and housing projects.
Shares of the company were up three per cent to ₹7,866 on Monday.
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