Cement maker The Ramco Cements Ltd on Thursday (February 8) reported a 38.6% year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit at ₹93.4 crore for the third quarter that ended December 31, 2023.
In the corresponding quarter last year,
The Ramco Cements posted a net profit of ₹67.4 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing. A CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted a profit of ₹137 crore for the quarter under review.
The company's revenue from operations increased 4.8% to ₹2,106.1 crore as against ₹2,008.8 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. The CNBC-TV18 poll had predicted revenue of ₹2,192 crore for the quarter under review.
At the operating level, EBITDA increased 38.9% to ₹395.4 crore in the third quarter of this fiscal over ₹284.8 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. Our poll had predicted an EBITDA of ₹445 crore for the quarter under review.
EBITDA margin stood at 18.8% in the reporting quarter as compared to 14.2% in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation. The poll had predicted a margin of 20.3% for the quarter under review.
Blended EBITDA per tonne for the Q3 of FY24 is ₹1,007 as against Rs 808 during Q3 of FY23. Operating ratio for Q3 of FY24 is 19% as against 15% in Q3 of FY23.
Sale Volume
During Q3, the sale volume was 4 metric tonnes, compared to 3.64 metric tonnes in Q3 of FY23 with a growth of 10%. The cement capacity utilisation for the Q3 of FY24 is at 74%. During the quarter, the extremely heavy rainfall and the subsequent flooding due to cyclone "Michaung" have affected the cement demand in Tamil Nadu and AP.
The cost of raw materials increased by 3% year-on-year from ₹944 to ₹970 per tonne for the current quarter due to the inflationary impact on procurement costs. During the Q3 of FY24, the blended fuel consumption per tonne for cement is equivalent to $138 (Cost per Kcal: ₹1.64) as against $191 (Cost per Kcal: ₹2.43) during Q3 of FY23.
The power and fuel cost per tonne of cement for Q3 of FY24 has decreased to ₹1,386 compared to ₹1,929 in Q3 of FY23. The overall green power usage has significantly improved from 20% in Q3 of FY23 to 36% in Q3 of FY24 because of a change in the utility of wind power for captive purposes.
The current spot CIF prices of pet coke and 3,400 GAR coal from Indonesia have come to the level of $118 and $47 respectively. With the easing of current pet coke prices, the blended fuel consumption for Q4 of FY24 may come down by 5$ to 10$.
Interest cost for the Q3 of FY24 is ₹102 crore as against ₹61 crore during the Q3 of FY23. Depreciation for the Q3 of FY24 is ₹166 crore as against ₹136 crore during the Q3 of FY23.
The increase in interest & depreciation is due to the commissioning of the Kolimigundla integrated unit, RR Nagar Line-3, and Dry Mortar Plants in RR Nagar and Salem. Profit before tax for Q3 of FY24 is ₹135 crore as against ₹97 crore in the corresponding previous-year period.
Debt
The net debt as of December 31, 2023, is ₹4,993 crore including working capital borrowings and the net debt to EBIDTA is at 3.22 times. The average cost of debt for 9M of FY24 is at 7.82% as against 6.16% in 9M of FY23 due to an increase in market rates.
The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of
The Ramco Cements Ltd ended at ₹975.35, down by ₹19.90, or 2.00% on the BSE.
