ACC third quarter net profit increases 24% to about Rs 450 crore

Cement maker ACC Ltd on Tuesday reported a 23.74 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 450.21 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021.

The company, which follows the January-December financial year cycle, had posted a profit of Rs 363.85 crore in the same quarter a year ago, it said in a BSE filing.

Total revenue from operations of ACC, a subsidiary of Swiss building material major Holcim group (earlier LafargeHolcim), rose 5.98 per cent to Rs 3,749 crore from Rs 3,537.31 crore earlier.

ACC Managing Director and CEO Sridhar Balakrishnan said, "ACC has recorded solid performance during the quarter through operational excellence and focus on sustainability while meeting customers' needs."

"Despite steep increase in fuel costs, our cost efficiency measures under project Parvat' have enabled us to maintain robust performance," he added.

Total expenses were at Rs 3,204.40 crore, up 5.31 per cent from Rs 3,042.75 crore a year ago.

During the July-September quarter, ACC's cement sales volume rose 1.23 per cent to 6.57 million tonnes (MT), compared to 6.49 MT earlier.

Revenue from cement increased 3.62 per cent to Rs 3,495.49 crore, while that from ready-mix concrete jumped 55.2 per cent to Rs 305.07 crore, as against Rs 196.57 crore earlier.

On the outlook, Balakrishnan said economic activity is gaining momentum and the government impetus on infrastructure and housing will augur well for cement demand in the next quarters.

"We are positive that the cement sector would benefit from increasing demand in various sectors such as housing, commercial and industrial construction," he said.

Sharing updates on COVID-19, ACC said its employees, their families and channel partners actively participated in the vaccination drive.

Shares of ACC Ltd on Tuesday settled at Rs 2,245.50 on the BSE, down 2.55 per cent from the previous close.