Ambuja Cement profit soars over 2-folds to Rs 1,161 cr in Apr-Jun

Ambuja Cement Ltd, part of Swiss building material major Holcim group, on Friday reported nearly two-fold jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,161.16 crore in the quarter ended on June 30 backed by strong growth in volumes and efficiency gains.

The company, which follows the January-December financial year, had clocked a net profit of Rs 592.51 crore in the year-ago period, Ambuja Cements said in a BSE filing.

Revenue from operations rose by 50.25 per cent to Rs 6,978.24 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 4,644.17 crore in the lockdown-hit April-June quarter of 2020.

Ambuja Cement's total expenses were at Rs 5,467.33 crore, up 42.17 per cent in the second quarter of 2021 compared with Rs 3,845.41 crore in April-June quarter of 2020.

The consolidated result of Ambuja Cements includes the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd.

On a standalone basis, Ambuja Cement reported a 59.49 per cent increase in its net profit to Rs 723.08 crore as against Rs 453.37 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Its standalone revenue from operations was Rs 3,371.18 crore, up 54.87 per cent, during the quarter as against Rs 2,176.75 crore a year ago.

Moreover, Ambuja Cements' sales volume also increased 51.07 per cent to 6.33 million tonnes as against 4.19 million tonnes of the corresponding quarter.

In a post earning statement, Ambuja Cement said it has "78 per cent rise in Operating EBIT with EBIT margin expansion of 310 basis points backed by strong growth in volumes and efficiency gains."

Commenting on the result, Neeraj Akhoury, the CEO and Managing Director Holcim India & CEO Ambuja Cements, said: "This performance resulted from strong growth in sales of premium products and successful execution of efficiency improvement programmes which has partly been impacted by rising energy and raw material costs."

Synergies under the master supply agreement have significantly benefited both Ambuja and ACC as we leverage our national footprint, he added.

Sharing an update on the coronavirus pandemic, the company said, "The second wave of COVID-19 in the country was managed proactively by the company. We continue to ensure strict adherence to government guidelines across all our plants and offices."

ACL has also facilitated vaccination drives with more than 97 per cent of its employees, dependents and third party workers being covered.

"Our plants are operating under strict COVID-19 protocols in line with the current risk which is being dynamically assessed on a daily basis," it added.

Over the outlook, Akhoury said the measures announced by the Government including higher spending for infrastructure development will support revival of economic activity in general and lead to higher cement demand.

"With the operational efficiency programs and expansion projects, the company feels confident to capture the future growth," he said.

Shares of Ambuja Cement Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 402.25 on the BSE, up 0.65 per cent from the previous close.