Ambuja Cements, the newly acquired cement arm of Gautam Adani-led Adani Group, on Tuesday reported 13.2% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at ₹487.88 crore in October to December quarter in FY23, as against ₹430.97 crore in the year-ago period. The company’s revenue from operations surged by 3.7% YoY to ₹7,906 crore in the December quarter compared with ₹7,625.28 crore in the year-ago period. Ambuja Cements has reported an increase in its profit for the first time after being acquired by the Adani Group last year from Holcim Ltd.
The company’s total income stood at ₹8,036 crore in the December quarter, up by 4.2% as against ₹7,709.61 crore in the year-ago period. The expenses during the quarter stood at ₹7,278 crore, reporting a surge of 6% as against ₹6,865.61 crore in Q3 of FY22. During the quarter, the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 6.1% to ₹1,138 crore as against ₹1,213 crore in the year-ago period.
On a sequential basis, the company’s profit after tax surged 851% from ₹51.30 in the September quarter of FY22. The company’s revenue from operations surged by 10.6% QoQ whereas its EBITDA witnessed a growth of 161% in the December quarter.
"During the quarter, the cement sector saw higher production & capacity utilization on account of a pickup in demand. The Company has maintained a healthy top line and leadership position in its core markets with a stronger Ambuja & ACC product portfolio. EBITDA margins expanded due to a relentless focus on reduction in fuel and logistics costs by leveraging synergies with Group Companies. Business initiatives are expected to further bring down the operating cost, reduce the clinker factor, reduce logistics cost, improve sales of blended cement, and expand the EBITDA margin. We expect cement demand to further grow in coming quarters on the back of increased infrastructure activities given the sharp focus on infrastructure capex in this Budget," says Ajay Kapur, CEO Ambuja Cements.
"The Company remains debt free with a healthy position of Cash & Cash Equivalents, which augurs very well for its journey to achieve scale and market leadership. Our focus is to ramp up capacity in an efficient way to ensure one of the lowest-cost producers is on track. Ametha Integrated Unit is set to be commissioned by July 2023, which will increase Kiln capacity by 3.3 MTPA (EC approvals in hand for 2.75 MTPA) & 1 MTPA Grinding Unit. We are making good progress on our planned WHRS installation target," he adds.
During the quarter, the company’s cost reduction on a quarterly basis stood at ₹283 PMT. The company registered a volume growth of 7% QoQ at 13.7 MTPA during the quarter.
On Tuesday, Ambuja Cements rose 5.45% to hit an intra-day high of ₹406.85 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹76,189 crore.
