UltraTech Cement Q2 net zoom 53 per cent to Rs251 crore

Aditya Birla Group company UltraTech Cement Limited today reported a 53 per cent rise in its profit after tax at Rs251 crore for the July-September 2009-10 quarter against a net profit of Rs164 crore for the comparable quarter of the previous financial year.

Profit before interest, depreciation and tax rose 54 per cent to Rs501 crore, against Rs325 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.

The company achieved net sales of Rs1,541 crore, against Rs1,396 crore in July-September last year.

Though the results reflect an improvement over Q2 FY09, lower demand, particularly in the markets of southern India, coupled with surplus capacity adversely affected the company's performance sequentially, the company said in a release.

Cement production at 3.73 million tonnes was up 12 per cent from 3.33 million tonnes in the previous year period. Domestic cement sales volume at 3.58 million tonnes was up 11 per cent from 3.23 million tonnes in the same quarter of the previous year.

Overall variable cost was lower by 16 per cent on account of softening in fuel prices and enhanced share of power from the captive thermal power plants, the release noted.

The board of Ultratech Cements, meanwhile, received a proposal from Samruddhi Cement Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Grasim Industries Limited, the company's holding company, informing about the demerger of Grasim's cement business and a potential consolidation of Samruddhi and the company, the release added.

"The board at its meeting held on 6 October 2009, having found the proposal attractive, constituted and authorised a committee to inter alia evaluate and consider the proposal in consultation with legal and financial advisors. The committee is expected to revert to the board with its recommendations by the first week of November 2009," it said.