Ambuja Cement Q2 net profit rises 21 pc to Rs 832 cr

Ambuja Cement Ltd on Thursday reported a 21.51 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 831.75 crore for the second quarter ended June 30, helped by higher realisations and cost saving.

Part of the Swiss cement giant LafargeHolcim, the company had clocked a net profit of Rs 684.46 crore in April-June quarter a year ago, Ambuja Cement said in a BSE filing.

Its net sales during the period under review rose 3.41 per cent to Rs 7,068.79 crore as against Rs 6,835.12 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal.

The company follows January-December financial year.

"Ambuja delivers a strong performance in the quarter backed by higher realisations and accelerated cost saving actions. Despite higher fuel costs, the company did well by optimising logistics costs, reducing raw material and fixed costs," Ambuja Cement MD and CEO Bimlendra Jha said.

However, the cement demand growth was muted during the quarter, he added.

During the quarter, consolidated sales volume was down 4.33 per cent to 13.02 million tonnes as against 13.61 million tonnes.

"Focus on increasing premium product portfolio, targeting high contribution markets, improved customer service combined with logistics efficiencies resulted in achieving a strong performance," Jha said.

The company's total expenses stood at Rs 5,903.93 crore compared to Rs 5,873.80 crore, up by 0.51 per cent.

Ambuja Cement's consolidated figure also includes the result of its subsidiary ACC Ltd, which had posted a net sales of Rs 4,059 crore during the April-June quarter.

On standalone basis, Ambuja Cement's net profit during the quarter was at Rs 412.05 crore and net sales of Rs 2,978.27 crore.

For the first half (January-June) of the year, Ambuja Cement's consolidated profit was up 27.38 per cent to Rs 1,527.05 crore over Rs 1,198.80 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The company's total H1 income was at Rs 13,899.49 crore, up 4.54 per cent, as against Rs 13,294.68 crore.

Over the outlook, the company said it expects growth momentum to pick up following the recent steps taken by the government such as lower interest rates, reforms in IBC and slew of measures announced for the financial sector to ease the liquidity.

"Government's current budgetary allocation in infrastructure development, i.e. construction of concrete roads, interlinking of rivers, irrigation projects and affordable housing is expected to have a favourable impact on cement demand," it said.

Shares of Ambuja Cement Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 214.75 on the BSE, down 0.39 per cent from previous close.