UltraTech FY09 net dips 3 %

UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla group, has posted a decline of 3.17 per cent in its consolidated net profit for the financial year ended 31 March at Rs 978.06 crore compared with Rs 1,010.05 crore in the previous financial year. The net sales of the company during the year rose to Rs 6563.64 crore from Rs 5623.38 crore last year, up 16.72 per cent.

The earning per share stood at Rs 78.57 against Rs 81.14 last year. Since the fuel prices rose significantly in the year, the cost on power and fuel for the company jumped around 36.68 per cent to Rs 1,714.17 crore from Rs 1,254.17 crore. Similarly, the cost of raw material grew to Rs 844.22 crore from Rs 622.72 crore, up 35.57 per cent.

For the quarter ended March, 2009, the company reported a rise in its net profit after two consecutive quarters when it witnessed decline in its profits. Growth in demand coupled with firm prices helped the company post better profits during the quarter than the previous corresponding quarter. The net profit for the March quarter stood at 309.36 crore compared with Rs 282.88 crore last year, up 9.4 per cent. The net sales during the period improved by 16.18 per cent to Rs 1,860.13 crore from Rs 1,601.02 crore last year.

Industry analysts pointed out that company managed to do better in an uncertain year as rise in volumes helped the company mitigate the pressure on margins.

In its outlook, the country's second largest cement maker with a capacity of 21.9 million tonnes, said, "A slow down in economic growth will aggravate the inevitable surplus in production capacity. The expected commissioning of an additional 50 million tonnes in FY10 and a further 15 million tonnes in the following year is likely to result in a reduction in capacity utilisation with adverse impact on margins."

On the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company's shares traded last on Tuesday at Rs 565.80, down 0.71 per cent.