A rise in input costs coupled with disruption of operations at its Chanderia unit in Rajasthan, has impacted profits of Kolkata-headquartered Birla Corporation Ltd. It is the flagship company of the MP Birla Group. The company has reported 37 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 44 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, compared with same period last year.

Operational profit dipped 36 per cent to Rs 53 crore. According to a company release, the drop in cash profit was following a lower realisation because of disruptions at its Chanderia unit. It also suffered foreign exchange losses to the tune of Rs 13 crore during the quarter. Net sales, however, grew by 12 per cent to Rs 538 crore.

The company had registered a decline of near 7 per cent in cement dispatches during the quarter under review. Its dispatch stood at 13.87 lakh tonnes. While operations at its Chanderia unit has been affected following a case at the Jodhpur High Court, dispatches at Satna (Madhya Pradesh) and Durgapur (West Bengal) were affected because of logistics problems due to poor availability of rakes from the Railways, the company said in its release. Birla Corp shares increased 3.7 per cent on Thursday to close at Rs 265.

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