Cement-maker Dalmia Bharat reported a 30 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at ₹144 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 against ₹205 crore in the year-ago period.
During the quarter under review, income from operations saw a 10 per cent jump at ₹3,624 crore. In the corresponding period last fiscal, the income from operations was ₹3,302 crore.
According to Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director & CEO, Dalmia Bharat Ltd, there is a strong demand on the back of a sustained push (by the Centre) on infrastructure and a robust real estate cycle already kicking in.
“This quarter has been a disappointment as against our expectations. Having said so, we remain focused on seizing the emerging demand opportunities,” he said in a statement to the bourses.
In terms of volume sales, the company sold 7 million tonnes (mt) of cement during the quarter, an over 12 per cent growth y-o-y. Volume sales in Q1FY22 was 6.2 mt.
Fuel prices
According to Mahendra Singhi, MD and CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd, the quarter witnessed further softening of fuel prices.
“Given the promising outlook for cement demand, expectation of stable cement prices during rest of the year and softening in commodity costs, we anticipate a gradual improvement in profitability,” he said.
During the quarter under review, the company’s Bokaro plant – Bokaro Cement Manufacturing Works in Jharkhand- with 2.5 mt annual capacity, commenced commercial production; while the de-bottlenecking of its West Bengal plant (to the tune of 0.6 mt) was also completed. Dalmia Bharat also commenced a trial run of its greenfield split grinding unit at Sattur in Tamil Nadu. The unit is expected to have an annual capacity of 2 mt, when operational.