UltraTech Cement Q3 results: Net profit soars 68% to Rs 1,777 crore; stock jumps

UltraTech Cement on Friday said its consolidated profit jumped 68 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 1,777 crore for the December quarter compared with Rs 1,058 crore in the same quarter last year. This was the highest ever quarterly profit for the cement maker. Consolidated net sales jumped 8 per cent YoY to Rs 16,487 crore for the quarter compared with Rs 15,299 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

UltraTech Cement said its domestic grey cement sales volume rose 5 per cent YoY and 1 per cent QoQ, respectively. Improved operational efficiencies, coupled with lower fuel and raw material costs resulted in improved Ebitda margins, it said. Operating Ebitda per mt stood at Rs 1.208 for India operations, up 34 per cent YoY and 27 per cent sequentially.

UltraTech Cement said the cement maker continues to lay high emphasis on 'green mobility' with the introduction of electric trucks on a pilot scale for transportation of clinker. During the quarter, the cement maker acquired a 0.54 mtpa cement grinding asset of Burnpur Cement Limited, located at Patratu in Jharkhand for a consideration of Rs.169.79 crores, marking its entry in he state of Jharkhand.

During the quarter, UltraTech Cement commissioned additional 26 MW of solar power taking its capacity to 455 MW in addition to Waste Heat Recovery Systems of 264 MW. The company is moving towards use of 85 per cent green power by the end of 2030, UltraTech Cement said.

In the north zone, housing segment registered de-growth in rural and urban owing to NGT ban, delayed kharif harvesting in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Labour shortage on account of state elections impacted construction activities in Rajasthan. Himachal Pradesh registered growth.

In the central zone, infrastructure segment growth momentum continued on account of Gorakhpur Link Expressway, Kanpur Lucknow Expressway, Kanpur Metro, Ganga Expressway. Also, There were elections in Madhya Pradesh.

In the west, Infrastructure segment demand in Maharashtra was supported by ongoing projects: Mumbai Metro, Mumbai Goa Expressway, new phase of Pune Metro. Commercial and Housing segment grew across all regions except Vidarbha.  In the case of Gujarat,  Housing and Commercial segment grew in rural and urban segments. Infrastructure segment growth was relatively slower. Ahmedabad Mumbai High-Speed Railway, Deesa Airport, Rajkot Airport were nearing completion.

In the south, Infrastructure segment demand was supported by ongoing projects: Bangalore-Chennai Expressway, Ernakulam Road Project, Railway Bridge Road, Wadi.

In the east, Housing segment registered growth across the regions except Bihar. Infrastructure and Commercial segment demand adversely impacted due to festivities, shortage of aggregates and sand.

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