NEW DELHI:
Ambuja Cements
Ltd (
ACL
) reported that its consolidated net profit for the first quarter ended June 2024 declined to Rs 789.63 crore from Rs 1,135.46 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year, as per a regulatory filing.
The
revenue
from operations for the June quarter stood at Rs 8,311.48 crore, compared to Rs 8,712.90 crore in the same quarter of FY23-24.
The financial results for the current quarter, preceding quarter, and FY24 include the financial results of Sanghi, which was acquired by ACL in August last year. Additionally, the results of ACCPL (Asian Concretes and Cements Pvt Ltd), acquired by ACL’s subsidiary ACC, are also included.
“The results for the current quarter, preceding quarter and FY24, are not comparable with the quarter ended June 30, 2023, to that extent,” the company said in a statement.
Additionally, the total expenses for the June quarter amounted to Rs 7,566.91 crore, while the total income, including other income, was Rs 8,666.20 crore.
The consolidated results of Ambuja Cements encompass the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd, in which it holds approximately 51 per cent stake, and Sanghi Industries, a Gujarat-based company acquired by the
Adani group
last year.
Ambuja Cements reported a profit after tax of Rs 570.65 crore in the June quarter on a standalone basis, compared to Rs 644.88 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The standalone revenue from operations for the first quarter of FY 2024-25 was Rs 4,780.32 crore.
The sales volume of ACL, including ACC, reached 15.8 million tonnes (MT), representing a 2.6 per cent increase. The company’s earning statement highlighted that this was the “highest ever Clinker & Cement sales in Q1 over last 5 years.” Ambuja Cements’s standalone sales volume stood at 9.3 MT in the June quarter, marking a 2.2 per cent increase.
“Our continued improvement on cost brings visibility of achieving the targeted cost reduction of Rs 530 PMT by FY28,” said Ajay Kapur, whole time director & CEO of ACL.
Kapur further said that he expects over Rs 10,000 crore acquisition of Hyderbad-based Penna to be closed in the September quarter of this fiscal.
“With the Penna transaction expected to be closed by Q2 FY25, our capacity will go to 89 MTPA and well on track to achieve our 140 MTPA plan by FY28,” said Kapur.
Ambuja Cements Ltd (ACL) has announced that its current cash and cash equivalent position of Rs 18,299 crore will enable the company to achieve accelerated growth in the future. The company provided updates on its ongoing projects, stating that brownfield expansions at 14 sites for a Clinker facility of 11 MnT and Cement capacity of 23.4 MnT are progressing as planned.
ACL expects the completion of a 4 MTPA clinker line 3 at Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh, by Q4 FY25, and a 6.4 MTPA grinding facility (Sankrail 2.4, Farakka 2.4, and Sindri 1.6 MTPA) between Q3 and Q4 FY25. Furthermore, the company is currently engaged in preoperative work for a 28 MTPA grinding facility and a 22 MTPA Clinker facility.
Regarding the outlook for the cement industry, ACL reported that cement demand in FY24 increased by 7-8 percent, reaching 422 MTPA, and is expected to grow further by 7-9 percent in FY25, reaching approximately 451 MTPA. The company attributes this growth to a strong correlation with GDP growth and increasing demand from the housing and infrastructure sectors.
The Indian government has allocated Rs 11.11 lakh crore for infrastructure projects in the Budget FY25, which represents 3.4 percent of the country’s GDP.
Additionally, the government plans to launch Phase IV of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations. ACL believes that these measures will contribute to a buoyant cement demand in the future. Ambuja Cements
Q1 profit
at Rs 789.63 cr; revenue at Rs 8,311.48 cr
