Grasim's profit rises 9% to Rs 1,248 crore

Grasim Industries reported consolidated net profit of Rs 1,248 crore for the quarter ended June, up 9.47 per cent from the corresponding period last year on the back of rising sales. Total income during the quarter stood at Rs 11,222 crore against Rs 10,373 crore in the corresponding period last year, up 8.18 per cent.
 
The Aditya Birla Group firm is the holding company for India’s largest cement maker UltraTech with about 92 million tonne per annum (mtpa) capacity. It is also into making viscose staple fibre (VSF) for the textile industry and chemicals such as caustic soda on a standalone basis.

 
“The VSF business will continue to focus on expanding the market in India by partnering the textile value chain and enriching the product mix through a larger share of speciality fibre,” said Dilip Gaur, managing director, Grasim Industries.
 

The company is working on an investment plan for capacity expansion and addition to the ongoing debottlenecking of its plants to meet the growing consumer demand. The demand for caustic soda is also expected to grow, with rising consumption from alumina and textile sectors. “In cement, the demand is expected to grow, driven by the government’s focus on infrastructure spending, affordable housing, and likely revival of rural housing with good monsoon,” said Sushil Agarwal, group chief financial officer.

 
With effect from July 1, Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd has been merged into Grasim Industries. Also, the demerger of the financial services business has been rendered effective from July 4 and it will be listed separately by the end of September quarter.
 
The result of erstwhile ABNL will be included in the company’s financial from the quarter ending September. For quarter ending June ABNL’s consolidated profit after tax was down by 74% to Rs 79 crore while its revenue was up by 8% to Rs 3507 crore, in comparison to corresponding period last year.