Ultratech Cement reported a marginal fall in September quarter (Q2) revenues year-on-year though the net profit rose 25 percent. The Aditya Birla Group company's consolidated net profit stood at Rs 614 crore, up from Rs 490 crore during the corresponding period last fiscal, according to the financial statements filed with the stock exchange authorites on Monday.
The stock was trading at Rs 4,009. 70 at around 12:33 p.m. on Tuesday, almost flat from its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The company's net sales dropped 2.53 percent to Rs 5,709 crore in Q2 from Rs 5,857 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the September quarter was up 16 percent to Rs 1,378 crore from Rs 1,186 crore a year ago. The operating profit per tonne came at Rs 1,187, up 18 percent YoY.
In volume terms, sales increased 1 percent to 11.2 million tonnes. An analyst termed it as "disappointing."
"On volumes front the company has disappointed, but lower input cost has helped in sustaining EBITDA margins to some extent. EBITDA at Rs 1,033 has been in line with expectations. With monsoons getting over the volume growth should ideally pick up over the next two quarters. However, if realizations don't improve, EBITDA could be under pressure, as input cost, particularly fuel expenses could go up," Siddharth Purohit, senior equity research analyst (Cement), Angel Broking, said in a note.
