Orient Cement Q4 Net up over three-fold at Rs 85.47 crore

NEW DELHI: Orient Cement today reported an over three-fold jump in its standalone net profit at Rs 85.47 crore for the quarter ended March 2015 on higher realisation in cement prices in south India and cost optimisation.

The firm, part of the USD 1.6 billion diversified C K Birla Group, had posted a net profit of Rs 26.34 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing.

Total income of the firm, however, fell by 2 per cent to Rs 394.31 crore in the January-March period of last fiscal from Rs 401.39 crore in the same quarter of 2013-14, it added.

When asked about the jump in net profits, Orient Cement Managing Director and CEO Deepak Khetrapal told PTI: "Our realisation in cement prices from south India was very good."

The focus on optimising operational costs and growing the market share in core markets has helped Orient deliver these robust numbers, he added.

"We have recorded volume of 9.90 lakh tonnes in Q4 FY'15, representing capacity utilisation of close to 80 per cent, one of the highest in the industry.

"Our strong distributor network and supply-chain helps us stay ahead of the curve. We are looking forward to expanding our reach and capacity with the upcoming Greenfield facility in Karnataka, which we are hoping to commission by this quarter of FY 2015-16," Khetrapal said.

For the entire 2014-15 fiscal, standalone net profit rose by 93 per cent to Rs 194.78 crore against Rs 101 crore in the 2013-14 fiscal.

Total income rose by 8 per cent to Rs 1,547 crore from Rs 1,438.45 crore during the same period.

He said cement demand has been very sluggish across the country and the industry is reported to have nearly double digit de-growth in the fourth quarter of 2014-15 compared to Q4 FY14. The firm's market in western India also had subdued demand during the quarter.

Besides, Orient Cement declared dividend of Rs 1 per share making a total dividend of Rs 1.75 per share including interim dividend declared earlier, the firm said.

On the outlook, Khetrapal said: "My view is subdued. Generally, pre-monsoon season is a strong business period, but this time in April the demand was very poor. In the first week of May also the demand was very poor."

He added that the firm expects demand to pick up after August.

Orient Cement shares closed 1.03 per cent up at Rs 172.30 apiece on the BSE.