The Ramco Cements has reported a dip of 31.92 per cent in its net consolidated profit during the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Its profit after tax stood at Rs 74.36 crore in Q1 FY24 as against Rs 109.23 crore it registered in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, the company said in a BSE filing.
The company’s net consolidated total income stood at Rs 2,253.95 crore in Q1 FY24, a growth of 26.23 per cent from Rs 1,785.64 crore it recorded in the similar quarter last year.
As on June 30, 2023, the company’s net worth stood at Rs 6,943.80 crore, debt-equity ratio was 0.65, current liability ratio was 23%, total debts to total assets 30%, operating margin was 16% and net profit margin was 3%. The net debt as on June 30, 2023 is Rs 4,406 crore, out of which Rs.479 crores is for working capital. The average cost of interest-bearing borrowings for the Q1 FY24 is increased to 7.95% from 6.66% in FY23.
During Q1 FY24, the sale volume is 4.30 million tons, compared to 3.34 million tons in the Q1 FY23 with a growth of 29%; but for the non-availability of sand in Kerala, supply disruption due to rail accident in Orissa and West Bengal and active monsoon in North East, the growth in sale volume could have been better for the current quarter. The cement capacity utilisation for the Q1 FY24 is at 79%.
The average decrease in diesel prices by 4% during the Q1 FY24 has resulted in marginal reduction of all in-bound / out-bound logistics cost. During the Q1 FY24, the blended fuel consumption per ton for cement is equivalent to $170 (cost per Kcal: Rs 2.03) as against $157 (cost per Kcal: Rs 1.87) during Q1 FY23. The power & fuel cost per ton of cement after adjustment of changes in inventories for Q1 FY24 has increased to Rs 1,669 from Rs 1,554 in Q1 FY23.
The current spot CIF prices of pet coke and 4200 GAR coal from Indonesia has come to the level of $120 and $61 respectively in Jul-23. Even though the fuel prices have come down during the Q1 FY24 for a brief period, the power & fuel cost per ton of cement for Q1FY24 remain at elevated level due to the higher base effect of the carrying value of the fuel inventory. However, the power & fuel cost per ton is expected to come down in the coming quarters.
The overall green power usage has significantly improved from 19% in Q1 FY23 to 29% in Q1 FY24 in view of change in utility of wind power to captive purposes, which will lead to reduction in cost by Rs 70 to Rs 80 per ton in the coming quarters. The green power share is likely to reach 40% for FY24.
Interest cost for the Q1 FY24 is Rs 93 crores as against Rs 47 crores during the Q1 FY23. The effective average cost of borrowing for Q1 FY24 is 7.68% as against 5.41% in the Q1 FY23. Depreciation for the Q1 FY24 is Rs 148 crores as against Rs.106 crores during the Q1 FY23.