Coal news and updates

UltraTech Cement 2nd quarter net profit up 55%

October 20: UltraTech Cement Limited, the Aditya Birla Group flagship, reported a nearly 55.26% growth in net profit (standalone) for the July-September or second quarter of 2014-15 to Rs 410.05 crore against Rs 264.11 crore reported in the same quarter of the previous fiscal, on the back of increased volumes of domestic sales, the company said in a statement on October 18.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, however, the company’s standalone net profit dropped from Rs 625.57crore recorded in the April-June or first quarter of 2014-15.

On a cumulative basis, the company’s standalone net profit for the first six months of the current fiscal stood at Rs 1,035.62 crore against Rs 936.71 crore in the same period of last year.

On a consolidated basis, the company’s net profit for the quarter under review stood at Rs 414.24 crore against Rs 2,79.86 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

During the second quarter of 2014-15, the company’s total operating income increased nearly 20% to Rs 5,429.34 crore compared to Rs 4,523.18 crore reported in the same period of the last financial year.

“During the quarter, domestic cement sales volume increased by 11% on the back of higher demand and additional volume from the acquired units in Gujarat. Costs were impacted mainly on account of increase in prices of pet coke, input material and royalty on limestone,” a company statement said.

During the second quarter of 2014-15, the company’s combined cement and clinker sales stood at 10.35 million tons (mt) (9.22 mt), the company statement added.

During the period, UltraTech commissioned a 1.4-mt mill under the Rajashree Cement brand, in Karnataka and a 25-MW thermal power plant at Tadipatri, Andhra Pradesh. With this the company’s total cement capacity in India stands at 60.2 mt and the total power capacity, including a waste heat recovery system (WHRS), at 733 MW. This caters to around 80% of the company’s power requirement

Projecting the outlook for the industry, the company statement said, “Cement demand is slated to grow over 8%. The key value drivers will be renewed government focus on housing and infrastructure spending.”

Following are the Q2 and six months’ results of UltraTech Cement Limited in 2014-15 and 2013-14 (in Rs crore):