Ambuja's profit up 43 per cent

BS 200 SCORECARD

Ambuja Cements (ACL), formerly known as Gujarat Ambuja Cements, has posted a 43.12 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 590.74 crore for the quarter ended March 31 against Rs 412.77 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. The net sales of the company during the period rose 33.5 per cent to Rs 1,433.84 crore from Rs 1,074 crore for the same period.

The country's fourth largest cement company, owned by Switzerland-based cement giant Holcim, managed to post better results due to improved efficiency of its plants, higher price realisations and one-time gain from stock sale. The company, during the period, registered a net gain of Rs 240.75 crore from the sale of 11 per cent stake in Ambuja Cement India to Holcim.

The operating profit for the quarter improved by 94.35 per cent to Rs 829.49 crore from Rs 427.02 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Earnings per share (EPS) rose by 76 per cent to Rs 3.89 compared with Rs 2.21 for the same period. On outlook, the company said the last quarter witnessed 6.6 per cent growth in cement sale. However, the growth in April-March was even higher at 9.94 per cent. The company expects the demand to be strong on the back of economic growth.

The company sold 4.34 million tonnes in the March quarter, up 3.83 per cent, compared to 4.18 million tonnes sold in the previous corresponding period.

Ambuja Cements plans to increase its capacity to 22 million tonnes from 16 million tonnes in three years. The quarter under review saw the commissioning of the first phase of the 30 mw power plant at Ambujanagar. The second phase of the plant is expected to be commissioned in the June quarter.

Along with it, the company will also commission its cement grinding units of one million tonne each in Farakka and Roorkee during the current quarter. The upgrade of its cement plant at Rabriyawas in Rajasthan is on schedule and likely to be completed by July this year. This will take the plant's clinkering capacity to 2 million tonnes from 1.5 million tonnes.