Birla Corporation, part of the MP Birla Group, saw its standalone losses widen to ₹23 crore for the quarter ending December 2017. Losses widened by nearly 50 per cent over the ₹12-crore it reported in the year-ago-period.
The transport and forwarding expenses saw a 44 per cent jump to ₹243 crore (₹169 crore) owing to an increase in price of diesel, the company said in a release.
Birla Corp also saw a 4 per cent increase in total income to ₹907 crore for the period under review.
However, on a consolidated basis, the company saw its losses decline by over 46 per cent to ₹22 crore for the quarter under review. Consolidated losses in the corresponding period last fiscal stood at ₹41.29 crore. The consolidated results include Birla Corp’s wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Cement Company Pvt Ltd.
A release issued by Birla Corp states that the operations of RCCPL have stabilised and the planned synergies are also getting realised.
In Uttar Pradesh, a sharp increase in demand was reflected in better price realisation in the market. On the other hand, prices remain depressed owing to low demand in Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi/NCR regions.
For Q3 FY18, cement production saw a 22 per cent jump in volumes to 30.62 lakh tonnes against 25.08 lakh tons in Q3 FY17.