Birla Corp Q3 net slips 59%; management expects cement demand to pick up in Q4

M P Birla group firm Birla Corporation Ltd on Friday reported a decline of 59.27 percent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 60.45 crore in the third quarter ended December 2021 due to contraction in cement demand and rise in input costs. It had posted a net profit of Rs 148.42 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, Birla Corporation said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operation was down 1.49 percent to Rs 1,750.06 crore during the quarter under review as against Rs 1,776.62 crore. "Profitability of Birla Corporation Limited's Cement Division for the December quarter was seriously impacted by weak demand and a sharp rise in variable costs. Power and fuel cost per tonne went up by 39 percent year-on-year and 20 percent sequentially," it said.

Its EBITDA per tonne for the cement division was down 36 percent from the year earlier, from Rs 992 to Rs 638. "Sales by volume in the December quarter was at 3.35 million tonnes against 3.55 million tonnes a year earlier -- a drop of 5.6 percent. This translated into a lower capacity utilisation of 86 percent for the December quarter against 92 percent a year earlier," said Birla Corporation in a post earning statement.