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PRESS
RELEASE
19
January
2009
UltraTech
reports results for the quarter ended 31 December 2008
Click
here to view the results
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(Rs.
crore)
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Quarter
ended
31 December 2008
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Quarter
ended
31 December 2007
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Net
sales
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1,631
|
1,380
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PBIDT
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451
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490
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| Profit
after tax |
238
|
279
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UltraTech Cement Limited, an Aditya Birla Group company, today
announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended
31 December, 2008.
Financials
Net sales at Rs.1,631 crore is up by 18 per cent compared
to Q3FY08 (Rs. 1,380 crore). Profit before interest, depreciation
and tax at Rs. 451 crore (Rs. 490 crore) and profit after
tax at Rs. 238 crore (Rs. 279 crore) were lower by 8 per cent
and 15 per cent respectively. Cash profit remained flat at
Rs. 358 crore (Rs.353 crore).
The company
has a strong balance sheet with debt: equity ratio of 0.5
and interest cover of more than 10 times.
The company
produced 3.98 mmt (3.60 mmt) of cement in Q3FY09 registering
a growth of 11per cent YoY.
Domestic
cement sales volume at 3.80 mmt (3.40 mmt) registered a growth
of 12 per cent. Exports were lower at 0.69 mmt (0.79 mmt). Total
sales volume increased by 6 per cent from 4.32 mmt in Q3FY08
to 4.57 mmt during the quarter under review. Domestic realisation
remained flat sequentially. Though fuel prices started softening
from November, 2008, its real impact will be reflected in Q4FY09.
During Q3FY09, as the company consumed fuel out of inventory
and order in pipeline, the variable cost was up by 35 per cent.
Capex
All project capex viz. the expansion at Andhra Pradesh Cement
Works (APCW), the grinding unit at Ginigera in Karnataka and
installation of captive thermal power plants across the company’s
units will be fully operational during FY09.
Upon the
commissioning at APCW and Ginigera, the total capacity of
the company will stand increased from 18.2 mmt to 23.1 mmt.
With the commissioning of the new TPPs, the company will have
access to 271 mws of captive power which will cater to around
80 per cent of its power requirements.
Outlook
The
government has taken several steps for improving liquidity in
the system. It has announced two stimulus packages to boost
the sagging economy. Despite this, funding continues to be a
problem in the real estate and infrastructure sectors. There
is a slowdown in construction activities and corporate capital
investments, leading to slackening in demand for cement. The
sector is now expected to grow in line with GDP.
Additionally,
the likely release of around 100 million tonnes capacity in
a phased manner over the next two years coincides with slower
economic growth. This will put pressure on sales realisation
and margins in FY10.
The company
will continue to focus on sustaining plant performance and
optimising efficiencies.
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