Ramco Cements Ltd said its ongoing capacity expansion projects estimated at ₹1,775 crore will be commissioned during the next fiscal.

The company is building Line III at its Jayathipuram plant with an additional clinkerisation capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum at ₹680 crore.

Also, expansion of grinding units in Visakhapatnam, Kolaghat and establishment of a new grinding unit in Odisha are progressing. The estimated cost of these projects is ₹1,095 crore.

All the above projects are expected to be commissioned in 2019-20, the company said in a statement.

It has reported a drop in its profit after tax both for the fourth quarter of 2017-18 and the full year.

Its standalone PAT for FY18 fell 14 per cent at ₹556 crore compared with ₹649 crore in FY17 on the back of lower operating profit, which stood at ₹1,136 crore (₹1,238 crore).

However, revenue grew by 11 per cent at ₹4,443 crore (₹3,993 crore).

Strong sales in the eastern markets contributed to the overall sales of the company. Due to sluggish economic activity in Tamil Nadu, the company could not improve its sales in the State. The scarcity of sand in Tamil Nadu also caused some disturbance to the growth. But there were some improvements during the second-half of FY18, it said.

In FY18, the company’s sale of cement stood at 93.12 lakh tonnes (83.48 lakh tonnes) in the previous fiscal.

During the Q4 of FY18, Ramco Cement’s PAT declined by 19 per cent at ₹109 crore compared with ₹134 crore in the year-ago period, mainly due to higher tax expenses.

Operating profit was higher at ₹291 crore (₹277 crore), while tax expenses were ₹97 crore (₹37 crore).

The board has recommended a dividend of ₹3 per share of ₹1 for 2017-18.

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