Ambuja Cements March quarter profit falls 11% to Rs 763 crore; revenue at Rs 7,966 crore

New Delhi: Ambuja Cements on Tuesday reported a decline of 10.87 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 763.30 crore for the quarter ended on March 31, 2023.

The company, now part of the Adani Group, had clocked a net profit of Rs 856.46 crore in the January-March quarter a year-ago, Ambuja Cements said in a BSE filing.

Its consolidated revenue from operations was almost flat at Rs 7,965.98 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 7,900.04 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

The consolidated results of Ambuja Cements include the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd, in which it owns around 51 per cent stake.

Ambuja Cements' total expenses were at Rs 7,118.71 crore, up 4.47 per cent from Rs 6,813.51 crore a year ago.

Its total consolidated revenue in the March quarter was up 3.25 per cent to Rs 8,250.45 crore.

On a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements reported an increase of 1.61 per cent in its net profit to Rs 502.40 crore in the January-March quarter as against Rs 494.41 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Its standalone revenue from operations increased 8.39 per cent to Rs 4,256.31 crore, as against Rs 3,926.73 crore earlier.

"Sustained volume growth supported by an increase in blended cement (clinker factor reduced from 62.5 per cent to 60.6 per cent), better route planning and higher operational synergies with its subsidiary, ACC," it said, adding, "market leadership strongly maintained across key markets." Sales volume of Ambuja Cements on a standalone basis was up 2.66 per cent to 7.7 million tonnes (MT) from 7.2 MT.

"The growth in revenue is despite the adverse impact on volumes from halting of the operations at the Himachal Pradesh plants for 50 days," said Ambuja Cements in its earnings statement.

In the March quarter, cost was reduced by Rs 228 PMT and expected to further reduce on cost optimisation and leveraging synergies from adjacency businesses of the group, it added.

"Business excellence initiatives are expected to further bring down the operating cost, reduce clinker factor, reduce logistics cost, improve sales of blended cement and expand EBITDA margin," it said.

However, on a consolidated basis, its sales volume declined 2 per cent to 14.1 MT in the January-March quarter. It was 14.4 MT in the corresponding quarter.

Ambuja Cement's consolidated revenue from operation for the financial year ended on March 31, 2023 (which is for 15 months this year) is at Rs 30,937.03 crore. Its Net profit for the said period was at Rs 3,02438 crore.

According to Ambuja Cement, it has changed its financial year end from December to March.

"Therefore, the figure for the current year is for fifteen months and not comparable with the figures for the previous twelve months year ended December 31, 2021," it said.

Ambuja Cements CEO Ajay Kapur said the company has reported another strong performance, which has been driven by strategic initiatives on business excellence, operational efficiencies and synergies.

"Our focus on operational excellence and cost optimisation measures have yielded improved profitability. We have been able to maintain our growth trajectory and further strengthen our position in the market. With the rise in construction activities across our markets, we see the continuation of the elevated demand and strong volumes in the coming quarters as well," it said.

He further said, "We, at Ambuja, remain committed to delivering sustainable growth and value to our stakeholders, and we are confident that our ongoing investments in capacity expansion and sustainability will enable us to achieve our long-term objectives." Over the outlook, the Adani Group firm said it is encouraged by the government's increased spending on infrastructure development, particularly roads, railways, affordable housing and other schemes as announced in the recent Union Budget.

"We are optimistic and maintain a positive outlook that the government's timely and pro-active measures will open more opportunities for the cement sector, that will stimulate cement demand and enhance economic growth," it said.

Meanwhile, in a separate filing, Abuja Cement said its board in a meeting held on Tuesday recommended a dividend of 125 per cent, which is Rs 2.50 per equity share of Rs 2 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2023.

Shares of Ambuja Cements on Tuesday settled at Rs 394.40 on BSE, down 0.48 per cent from the previous close.