Grasim clocks Q2 net profit of Rs 1,002 crore against y-o-y loss of Rs 1,468 crore

Aditya Birla-led Grasim Industries on Thursday reported a profit after tax of Rs 1,002 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year (Q2 FY20) against a loss of Rs 1,468 crore in Q2 FY19.

Consolidated revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 18,430 crore, recording a growth of 3 per cent from Rs 17,892 crore in the same period of previous fiscal while consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) at Rs 3,180 crore recorded a growth of 7 per cent year-on-year.

Profit after tax (before exceptional items and one-time deferred tax benefit) was up by 6 per cent to Rs 639 crore driven by the superior performance of the company's subsidiaries UltraTech Cement Ltd and Aditya Birla Capital Ltd.

For the viscose business, the net revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 2,431 crore and EBITDA at Rs 381 crore. The company said global prices of viscose fibre softened further on account of significant capacity additions in China and Indonesia over the past one year and ongoing US-China trade war.

The Indian viscose fibre prices witnessed a weakening trend driven by a steep 23 per cent year-on-year correction in Chinese prices. The weakness in the domestic viscose fibre realisations impacted this quarter's profitability.

The benefit of falling input costs like pulp prices will get reflected in the coming quarters due to inventory time lag, the company said in a statement.

For chemical business, the net revenue for Q2 FY20 stood at Rs 1,347 crore and EBITDA at Rs 273 crore. The softening of caustic soda prices globally has led to a decline in domestic prices, resulting in lower profitability on year-on-year basis.

The total capex plan of Rs 7,800 crore (at standalone level) is under execution for raising capacities in both viscose fibre and chemical businesses, apart from ongoing modernisation capex at various plants. This capital expenditure is expected to be incurred over three yearsperiod from FY20 to FY22.

UltraTech Cement reported consolidated revenue of Rs 9,620 crore, up 4 per cent year-on-year, and EBITDA of Rs 2,072 crore in Q2 FY20, up 33 per cent year-on-year. The consolidated sales volume stood at 18.69 million tonnes per annum.

Aditya Birla Capital Ltd reported revenue and net profit after minority interest for Q2 FY20 were at Rs 3,976 crore and Rs 256 crore, up by 11 per cent and 37 per cent respectively.

The overall lending book (non-banking finance company and housing finance) grew 4 per cent year-on-year to Rs 60,477 crore in Q2 FY20 while average assets under management stood at Rs 2.69 lakh crore.

Grasim Industries is the flagship company of Aditya Birla Group with consolidated net revenues of Rs 72,900 crore and consolidated profit before tax of over Rs 7,700 crore in FY 2019.

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