The Ramco Cements Q3 profit down 31.9% at Rs 51.2 crore

Ramco Cement net profit fell 73% YoY in March quarter. Ramco Cements reported a 73 percent fall in standalone net profit after tax at Rs 124 crore for the quarter ended March compared with Rs 214 crore a year back, due to cost pressures and lower realisation. Revenue from operations for the quarter stood at Rs 1,698 crore compared to Rs,624 crore in the year-ago period, an increase of about 5 percent. Power and fuel costs shot up to Rs 467 crore compared to Rs248 crore, while finance costs more than doubled to Rs 33 crore from Rs 15 crore.

The Ramco Cements on Tuesday reported a 31.93 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 51.21 crore for the third quarter that ended on December 31, 2022, on account of a rise in fuel prices.

The company had reported a net profit of Rs 75.24 crore in the October-December period a year ago, The Ramco Cements said in a regulatory filing.

However, its total income was up 29.61 per cent to Rs 2,020.37 crore as against Rs 1,558.69 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. This increase was led by growth in sales volume.

"During Q3 of FY23, the sale of cement is 3.57 million tonnes, compared to 3.01 million tonnes in the Q3 of FY22 with a growth of 19 per cent," the company said in its earning statement.

According to the company, despite an improvement in the average price of cement during the quarter, it could not cover the cost increase since the pet coke/coal prices remain at elevated levels.

Total expenses in the quarter were Rs 1,925.61 crore, up 32.94 per cent from the year-ago period.

On the demand outlook, it said the current demand for cement is good.

"The cement demand in the medium term is also encouraging in view of promising factors like a good monsoon, water levels in reservoirs, focus on infra spend by the government and upcoming elections," it said.

Shares of The Ramco Cements on Tuesday settled at Rs 701.10 apiece on BSE, up 2.57 per cent from the previous close.