UltraTech Cement Ltd.'s quarterly profit more than doubled, aided by cost saving measures and lower finance expenses.
The cement maker's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 1,234.38 crore in the quarter ended September, a 113% jump over the year-ago period, according to an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 835-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
While net sales of the company rose 8% to Rs 10,354 crore, its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 40% year-on-year to Rs 2,945 crore—the highest since the first quarter of FY20.
That was mostly led by lower energy and other costs (down 9% and 18% year-on-year, respectively), coupled with stable logistic expenses. The company's margin expanded to 26.03% from 19.9% a year ago.
UltraTech Cement's volumes rose in line with estimates at 19.2 million tonnes compared with 16.03 million tonnes a year ago. That, however, was slightly lower than 21.3 millon tonnes reported in the three months ended June. The company's volume growth was led by a rise in demand for individual home building in eastern, central and northern region.
Debt Reduction
UltraTech Cement lowered net debt for the second straight quarter.
The company shaved off Rs 4,728 crore of net debt in the first half of the ongoing financial year, helped by prudent working capital management, and efficient operations.
Its consolidated net debt stood at Rs 12,132 crore for the quarter ended September compared with Rs 14,651 crore in the preceding three months.
Shares of UltraTech Cement were trading 1.51% higher after the quarterly results were announced, compared with 0.47% gain in the Nifty 50 Index.
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