India Cements’ net profit dropped by over 40 per cent during the second quarter of the current year compared with the corresponding period last year.
The company reported a net profit of Rs 49.08 crore (Rs 69.71 crore) on a total income of Rs 1,125.68 crore (Rs 1,091.57 crore) for the quarter ended September 30.
Spiralling costs of fuel, power and logistics are to blame for the drop in net profit despite stable realisations, said N. Srinivasan, Vice- Chairman and Managing Director.
Power and fuel costs increased to Rs 328.48 crore (Rs 271.52 crore) and transportation and handling to Rs 223.51 crore (Rs 191.67 crore).
Net realisation during the quarter was Rs 3530 a tonne (Rs 3,430).
The company has made significant progress in energy security through captive power plants and the Indonesian coal mine has started operation with nearly 30,000 tonnes of coal ‘mined and accumulated’ for transport to India. The mine will soon yield about 50,000 tonnes of coal a month and will increase to about 100,000 tonnes in about a year, he said.
The total captive power capacity available to India Cements is about 200 MW.
With a total annual production capacity of about 16 million tonnes, the capacity utilisation is about 65 per cent, Srinivasan said.
On the NSE, the company’s shares closed at Rs 97.50 against the previous close of Rs 97.80.