Ambuja Cements June Quarter Profit Falls 25% To Rs 865 Crore

Ambuja Cements on Thursday reported a 25.46 per cent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 865.44 crore for the June 2022 quarter due to rising fuel prices and related inflationary impacts.

The company, which follows the January-December financial year, had clocked a net profit of Rs 1,161.16 crore in the year-ago quarter, Ambuja Cements said in a BSE filing.

However, its revenue from operations was up 15.11 per cent to Rs 8,032.88 crore during the quarter as compared to Rs 6,978.24 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.

Ambuja Cements' total expenses were at Rs 7,276.72 crore, up 33.09 per cent in Q2 of 2022 from Rs 5,467.33 crore a year ago.

The consolidated result of Ambuja Cements also includes the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd.

On a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements reported an increase of 44.92 per cent in its net profit to Rs 1,047.90 crore as against Rs 723.08 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Its standalone revenue from operations was Rs 3,993.45 crore, up 18.45 per cent in April-June quarter as against Rs 3,371.18 crore a year ago.

Ambuja Cements' sales volume was up 15.10 per cent in April-June quarter at 7.39 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) from 6.42 MTPA of the corresponding quarter.

For the first half of 2022, Ambuja Cements' consolidated net profit was down 27.93 per cent at Rs 1,721.90 crore as against Rs 2,389.40 crore a year ago.

Its revenue from operations increased 8.43 per cent to Rs 15,932.92 crore in 2022 in the January-June period. It was Rs 14,693.05 crore in H2 of 2021.

Neeraj Akhoury, CEO, Holcim India, and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Ambuja Cements, said: "Ambuja has recorded robust volume growth of 15 per cent, and top line growth of 18 per cent" in the quarter.

However, "the April to June 2022 quarter was impacted by rising fuel prices and related inflationary impacts," he said, adding, this was partly mitigated by improved efficiencies.

"In addition, the Master Supply Agreement with ACC also led to strong performance on logistics costs," he added.

While updating about its expansion projects, Ambuja Cements said its projects for 8.5 million tonnes of cement capacity at Ropar and Bhatapara are on track.

Over the outlook, the company said the Reserve Bank of India, during its June meeting, noted that the domestic economic recovery is gaining strength.

"Investment activity is to be aided by improving capacity utilisation, the government's capex push, and strengthening bank credit; this bodes well for cement demand. Further, rural consumption should benefit from a normal monsoon owing to improvement in agricultural prospects," the company said.

In May, Holcim had signed a binding agreement with the Adani Group to sell its business in India, comprising its 63.11 per cent stake in Ambuja Cement which owns a 50.05 per cent interest in ACC as well as its 4.48 per cent direct stake in ACC.

Shares of Ambuja Cements on Tuesday settled at Rs 370.95 on the BSE, up 0.07 per cent from the previous close.