India Cements' net loss contracts to Rs 81.39 crore during Jul-Sep quarter

Cement maker The India Cements Ltd has reported a standalone net loss for the July-September 2023 quarter at Rs 81.39 crore, the company said on Wednesday.

The standalone net loss during the corresponding quarter of last year stood at Rs 137.58 crore.

For the six-month period ended September 30, 2023 the net loss was at Rs 156.66 crore, as against a net loss of Rs 61.49 crore registered in the year-ago period.

The standalone total income slipped to Rs 1,228.06 crore, from Rs 1,258.52 crore registered during the same period last year.

For the half year ended September 30, 2023, the standalone total income was at Rs 2,627.97 crore as compared to Rs 2,712.79 crore registered in the same period of last year.

The performance of the company was better than that of earlier quarters turning out a marginally positive EBITDA despite the restricted operations caused by the stressed working capital position, the company said.

The EBITDA for the quarter under review was at Rs 14 crore sizably improved when compared with the negative EBITDA of Rs 87 crore during the second quarter of last year.

"The selling price of cement continued to be under pressure due to supply overhang and competition in the marketplace," the company said.

The company is continuing its efforts towards the disposal of non-core assets and other means to raise funds for the refurbishment of the plants to improve efficiency and also to augment working capital needs.

The company had stepped up the proportion of blended cement from 50 per cent in the previous year to 56 per cent during the first six months of the year, the statement said.

On the outlook for the current financial year, the company said cement demand looks positive with increasing home building and construction activity and the Centre and States expected to give push to spending on infrastructure projects ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.