Ambuja Cements Ltd on Monday reported a 6.80 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 742.59 crore for the first quarter ended March 31. The company, which follows the January-December financial year, had clocked a net profit of Rs 695.30 crore in the corresponding period a year ago, Ambuja Cements said in a BSE filing.
Its revenue from operations was down 8.50 per cent to Rs 6,249.66 crore during the March 2020 quarter, compared with Rs 6,830.70 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year, impacted by de-growth in volumes due to the nationwide lockdown.
Ambuja Cements’ total expenses in the January-March quarter this year was down 2.44 per cent at Rs 5,388.38 crore, compared with Rs 6,151.66 crore.
The firm’s consolidated report also includes the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd.
While on a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements, part of Swiss firm LafargeHolcim, reported a decline of 6.52 per cent in its net profit to Rs 399.10 crore as against Rs 426.98 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
Its revenue from operations was Rs 2,827.54 crore, down 3.41 per cent, during the quarter as against Rs 2,927.62 crore a year ago.
Ambuja Cements Managing Director and CEO Neeraj Akhoury said, “Till February, we had recorded a healthy volume growth, which was impacted in March 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown. I firmly believe that we will emerge stronger from this crisis with our focus on business fundamentals and measures put in place to keep our people healthy and safe.”
During the quarter, Ambuja Cements’ sales volume declined 9.57 per cent to 5.76 million tonnes as against 6.37 million tonnes of the corresponding quarter.
“Cement realisation increased by 6 per cent year-on-year. Volumes also registered a growth till February 2020 due to robust demand. Cement volumes for the quarter de-grew by 10 per cent on account of the country-wide lockdown,” it said.
While on its subsidiary ACC Ltd, Ambuja Cements said, “Though cement volumes declined by 12 per cent during this quarter, operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) achieved a double-digit growth of 10 per cent, led by focused cost performance.”
Over the outlook, the company said it expects “demand to stabilise due to normal monsoon and policy support measures” taken by the government and Reserve Bank of India.
“Post lockdown, it is expected that rural demand and construction sectors like road and irrigation will gather pace. India’s push for infrastructure, housing for all and urbanisation will collectively drive demand growth in the mid-term,” it said.
Shares of Ambuja Cements Ltd on Monday settled at Rs 172.30 on the BSE, up 2.59 per cent from the previous close.
