JK Lakshmi Cement back in black; Q1 net profit at Rs 29 cr

The company's total income rose to Rs 777 crore, from Rs 591 crore a year ago

JK Lakshmi Cement on Thursday reported a standalone net profit of Rs 28.6 crore for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a net loss Rs 23.5 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's total income on standalone basis also rose to Rs 777 crore in the April-June quarter from Rs 591 crore during the same quarter in 2015-16, the company said in a BSE filing.

Its total expenses jumped to Rs 701 crore, compared to about Rs 580 crore a year ago.

"This healthy jump in our company's profitability is primarily due to improved efficiencies, higher volume and realisation and better cost control," stated Vinita Singhania, vice chairperson and managing director, JK Lakshmi Cement.

The firm also brought down its fuel and power consumption during the period.

The company's Whole-time Director Shailendra Choukey said: "Surat grinding unit has started its trial run and the work on rehabilitation of Udaipur cement plant under its subsidiary UCWL is progressing satisfactorily and we hope to commence trial production by end of December 2016."

The firm, part of the $4 billion JK Group, operates integrated cement facilities at Sirohi (Rajashthan), Durg (Chhatisgarh), Kalol and Surat (Gujarat) and Jharli (Haryana).

At present, it produces 8.4 million tonnes annually and its capacity is scheduled to go up to 12 million tonnes per annum shortly.