Cement major UltraTech Cement reported a 35.5% year-on-year increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹2,258 crore in the March quarter of FY24, against ₹1,666 crore in the corresponding period for the previous year.
During the January to March period of FY24, the company’s revenue stood at ₹20,418.94 crore, witnessing a growth of 9.4% against ₹18,622.38 crore in the March quarter of the previous fiscal year. Of this, the domestic sales of grey cement grew 7% YoY to ₹17,716 crore, whereas the exports of grey cement increased by 10% YoY to ₹675 crore. The revenue from white cement stood at ₹715 crore, up 8% year-on-year. The revenue from ReadyMix Concrete (RMC) was up 37% to ₹1,558 crore.
The company’s EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) stood at ₹4,250 crore during the quarter under review, as against ₹3,444 crore in the same period last year.
For the full year, the consolidated net profit after tax stood at ₹7,005 crore, up 38%, as against ₹5,064 crore in FY23. The company’s net sales in FY24 stood at ₹69,810 crore, up 12% YoY, as against ₹62,338 crore in FY23. The company’s EBITDA (earnings before income, tax, depreciation and amortisation) stood at ₹13,586 crore, up 22.4%, as against ₹11,123 crore last year.
“The Company continues to deliver strong cash flows. During FY24 the Company's net debt increased only by Rs. 77 crores after spending over Rs. 9,400 crores on capex. Over the last five years UltraTech has delivered a 24% cagr growth in its earnings per share,” says UltraTech Cement.
According to the company, domestic operating EBITDA/Mt of ₹ 1,185, higher by ₹ 125/Mt on yoy and lower by ₹ 23/Mt qoq.
“Coal and petcoke (fuel) prices witnessed a drop during FY24. The Company's imported fuel consumption cost during Q4FY24 was 13% lower than Q4FY23 and it remained flat QoQ. Effective capacity utilisation was 98% during the quarter and 85% for the full year ,” says the company.
The board of the cement major has recommended a dividend at the rate of Rs. 70/- per equity share of face value of Rs. 10/- per share, aggregating Rs 2,020.84 crore.
Notably, the company expects demand for cement across all sectors to continue remaining robust, thus auguring well for UltraTech Cement.
The company’s share price ended 2.70% higher at ₹9,962.25. This was in line with the broader BSE Sensex, which closed 941.12 points or 1.28% higher at 74,671.28. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹2,87,607 crore with 16,884 shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 5,933 shares.
