Cement and cement products manufacturer Birla Corporation on Wednesday reported nearly three-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 81.49 crore in the third quarter ended December 2019. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 27.36 crore in the same period last fiscal, Birla Corporation said in a regulatory filing.
Revenue from operations during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,715.05 crore as compared to Rs 1,556.93 crore in the year-ago period, a growth of 10.16 per cent.
Birla Corporation said it was able increase profitability on the back of revenue growth and better realisation.
During the period, the company said its total sales volume grew 7 per cent year-on-year to 3.43 million tons, while realisation per ton grew 3.49 per cent to Rs 4,712.
Capacity utilisation for the December quarter was at 87 per cent, up 5 percentage points over the comparable period of previous year, it said.
During the quarter, cement prices in key markets in northern and central India weakened from September quarter. In eastern India, cement prices dropped sharply in the three months till December, it added.
However, the company was able to garner increased market share in West Bengal and Bihar by expanding distribution reach and leveraging cross-branding from multiple plants of its own and its subsidiary, Birla Corporation added.
Led by premium brands such as MP Birla Cement Unique and MP Birla Cement Perfect Plus, the company’s sales volume in eastern India during the quarter grew by 27 per cent over the previous year, it added.
Demand in the trade segment, which caters to rural housing and individual homebuilders, was affected in some of Birla Corporation’s key markets such as Madhya Pradesh owing to an extended monsoon, it said.
On the other hand, the company said sale of premium cement by volume witnessed a 17 per cent year-on-year growth in December quarter on the back of continued focus on the category and investments into brand-building.
On the outlook, Birla Corporation said increase in launch of new residential projects and revived demand in certain key states suggest demand is picking up pace.
Furthermore, the announcement of the National Infrastructure Pipeline and renewed focus on roads, housing and irrigation projects should augur well for cement demand in the coming months.
“Though FY20 is likely to end with low single-digit volume growth, a healthy revival is expected for the industry in FY21,” the company said.
