UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company, has reported a near trebling of its net profit to ₹3,239 crore in the fourth quarter of FY20, against ₹1,085 crore in the previous-year period, on the back of a deferred tax write-back of ₹2,024 crore.
Revenue from operations was down at ₹10,746 crore (₹12,371 crore).
The company will pay a dividend of ₹13 a share, leading to a total outgo of ₹375 crore.
The government had lowered the tax rate to 22 per cent from 30 per cent for corporates foregoing all exemptions. The company has applied the lower tax rates on the deferred tax assets/liabilities to the extent these are expected to be realised or settled in the future period, when the company may be subjected to a lower tax rate. It has, accordingly, reversed the net deferred tax liability of ₹ 2,109 crore, said the company.
UltraTech Cement repaid ₹1,765 crore of debt in the March quarter. Its net debt reduced to ₹16,860 crore in Q4 FY20 (₹22,111 crore).
The company has cut its capital expenditure to ₹1,000 crore this fiscal against ₹1,604 crore spent in FY20 to conserve cash for the difficult times ahead.
The sales volume was down 16 per cent in the March quarter to 21 million tonne (25 mt).
In the face of the pandemic, the company’s operations across locations were shut down. Construction activity across the country was halted, which normally peaks in March, leading to an adverse impact on the company.
The company resumed operations from April 20 after obtaining necessary government approvals.
The Century Textiles and Industries cement plants acquired last October have achieved capacity utilisation of over 80 per cent in the March quarter. About 65 per cent of sales from Century plants are under the UltraTech brand, which will touch 85 per cent by December quarter, improving the margins further, it said.