Birla Corp PAT dips 38%

M P Birla group’s flagship company, a major player in the cement industry, Birla Corporation Ltd, has posted a 38 per cent dip in profit after tax to Rs 69.59 crore in the third quarter of the financial year, as against Rs 112.29 crore during the corresponding period last fiscal.

The company’s cash profit for the quarter also decreased 39.62 per cent to Rs 107.44 crore from Rs Rs 177.94 crore during the corresponding period last financial year. The turnover for the quarter was also down 11.5 per cent to Rs 546.75 crore against Rs 617.84 crore last year..

“The profitability of the company has reduced not only because of pressure on prices but due to substantial increase in capacities, poor demand for cement from the government and infrastructure sectors and also owing to higher cost of power and fuel,” said Harsh V. Lodha, Chairman of the company. However, the firm will go ahead with its new projects.

Birla Corporation’s major projects include setting up of a greenfield cement plant in Guwahati with an investment of about Rs 450 crore, a grinding unit with a capacity of 500,000 tons per annum at Kota in Rajasthan.