PRESS RELEASE

21 July 2009

(Rs. crore)
	30 June 2009	30 June 2008	Change (in per cent)
Net sales	1,953	1,496	31
PBIDT	751	472	59
Profit after tax (PAT)	418	265	58

UltraTech Cement Limited, an Aditya Birla Group company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 30 June 2009.

Financials
The company achieved net revenues of Rs. 1,953 crore (Rs. 1,496 crore). Profit before interest, depreciation and tax at Rs. 751 crore (Rs. 472 crore) rose by 59 per cent while profit after tax at Rs. 418 crore (Rs. 265 crore) registered a growth of 58 per cent. Cash profit at Rs. 556 crore (Rs. 388 crore) was higher by 43 per cent. The results were driven by volume growth of 24 per cent together with a fall in variable cost by 7 per cent on account of captive power generation and softening of imported coal prices.

Domestic volume at 4.65 MMT (3.93 MMT) registered a growth of 18 per cent, while exports at 0.66 MMT (0.34 MMT) were up by 91 per cent.

Cement production at 4.52 MMT (3.95 MMT) was higher by 14 per cent although effective capacity utilisation remained flat at 95 per cent on expanded capacity.

Capex
The company’s capacity stands augmented to 23.10 mtpa upon commissioning of capacity at Andhra Pradesh Cement Works (APCW) together with a split grinding unit at Ginigera in Karnataka. The thermal power plants set up across various units are fully operational now. The company has access to around 236 MW of captive thermal power, catering to 80 per cent of its power requirements. These initiatives for volume and efficiencies collectively involved a capex of around Rs. 3,200 crore spent over the past few years and is expected to bolster the company’s productivity and reducing costs.

The Board has approved an additional capex of around Rs. 600 crore. With this the company has a capital outlay of around Rs. 2,000 crore. This will be spent over the next two years for setting up of a 25MW thermal power plant at its unit in Awarpur, Maharashtra; an additional grinding and evacuation facility at its unit in Gujarat; waste heat recovery systems across units for generating power out of waste gases. All of these will be financed through internal accruals.

Outlook
Industry demand may grow at 9 per cent for the year due to Government initiatives to boost rural development, infrastructure and housing. The new capacities in the sector, which are at various stages of commissioning, will inevitably result in a surplus scenario from H2FY10, resulting in pressure on margins.

The company’s initiatives in the form of capacity addition, new thermal power plants and capital productivity should partially offset the impact on margins.