Grasim's Q4 net up 37 percent

Grasim Industries on Saturday reported a 37 percent rise in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March to Rs.696 crore from Rs.507 crore in the year ago period.

Net sales and operating income for the company soared 13 percent to Rs.10,001 crore for the quarter under review from Rs.8,817 crore in the corresponding period.

The Aditya Birla Group company reported EBITDA for the quarter at Rs.2,059 crore, up 24 percent from Rs.1,658 crore in the year ago period.

"Firm's consolidated net profit rose 35 percent to Rs.2,359 crore in 2015-16, from Rs.1,744 crore," the company said in a BSE filing.

The company posted a 14 percent increase in its cement sales volumes, viscose staple fiber (VSF) sales volumes were up by 10 percent and caustic sales volumes went up 95 percent year-on-year in the quarter ended March 2016.

The company plans to spend Rs.2,250 crore as capital expenditure in the current financial year (2016-17) of which Rs.1,500 crore to be spent in the cement business and the rest in the VSF and chemical business.

The company plans to increase its caustic capacity to 1,048 kilo tonnes per annum (ktpa) from 804 ktpa including 144 ktpa brownfield expansions at Vilayat and 100 ktpa debottlenecking at various plants, the company said.

It said that the company would continue to focus on expanding VSF market in India by partnering with the textile value chain and aim at better customer connect.

Demand for cement is expected to grow at 7-8 percent for the next year, driven by the government's focus on infrastructure development, housing, smart cities etc., the company said.

At the end of 2015-16, the company had a total debt of Rs.12,841 crore.

--IANS

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