India Cements Jan-Mar quarter net profit advances 23% YoY

Chennai-based India Cements has reported a 23 per cent increase in its net profit for the quarter ended March 2019. Higher prices, a recovery in cement demand and improved capacity utilisation led to a net profit of INR430m and revenues of INR15.64bn, up 12 per cent YoY and 19 per cent QoQ.

For the full financial year 2018-19, stand-alone profits dropped 30 per cent YoY to INR690m as net plant realisations (NPR) fell two per cent YoY and rising fuel prices increased production costs.

Going forward, we expect good demand for cement to continue in the coming quarters,” said N Srinivasan, India Cements’ vice-chairman and MD. “During the fourth quarter, our EBITDA per tonne increased to Rs 629 from Rs 470 per tonne in the third quarter. We expect it to be better in the first quarter of current year,” he added.