Ambuja Cements' net dips 25% in CY08

Ambuja Cements, part of the Swiss cement giant Holcim, has posted a decline of 24.72 per cent in its consolidated net profit for the financial year ended December 2008 to Rs 1,389.71 crore compared with Rs 1,846.11 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. Its consolidated net sales during the year stood at Rs 6,261.79 crore as against Rs 5,718.60 crore last financial year, up 9.5 per cent.

The financial performance was impacted by lower overall demand for cement and higher input costs coupled with the restricted ability to pass on the increased burden to the market. Ambuja’s expenditure on power and fuel alone increased by 30 per cent to Rs 1,325.77 crore from Rs 1,020.23 crore last year.

On a standalone basis, the company’s cement production went up by 5 per cent to 17.8 million tonnes. Domestic despatches were up 9 per cent. However, on the export front, Ambuja - a leading cement exporter - got a hit with exports dipping by over 37 per cent in 2008.