ACC June quarter profit down 60% to Rs 227 crore, sales up 15% to Rs 4,468.42 crore

Cement maker ACC Ltd on Thursday reported a 60.07 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 227.35 crore in June 2022 quarter, due to rise in fuel costs and related inflationary impacts.

The company, which follows January-December financial year, posted a profit of Rs 569.45 crore in April-June 2021, ACC said in a BSE filing.

Its total revenue from operations during the quarter under review was at Rs 4,468.42 crore, up 15.01 per cent, as against Rs 3,884.94 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

ACC's EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) stood at Rs 426 crore in the April-June 2022 quarter "due to significant impact of fuel cost increase despite strong efficiencies delivered," said an earnings statement.

Its total expenses were at Rs 4,221.74 crore, up 32.94 per cent in April-June, 2022, as against Rs 3,175.47 crore a year ago.

In the April-June 2022 quarter, ACC's cement sales volume was up 10.52 per cent to 7.56 million tonnes (MT) as against 6.84 MT in the corresponding quarter of 2021.

ACC's revenue from cement rose 13.12 per cent to Rs 4,154.13 crore, against Rs 3,672.31 crore of the corresponding quarter.

Revenue from ready-mix concrete jumped 52.69 per cent to Rs 389.49 crore, against Rs 255.08 crore a year ago.

ACC managing director and CEO Sridhar Balakrishnan said the "April to June 2022 quarter was impacted by rising global fuel costs and related inflationary impacts".

"We were able to mitigate part of this impact through our efficiency project 'Parvat'. The cost reduction journey will be further accelerated with commissioning of waste heat recovery projects in Jamul, Kymore and Ametha plants taking the share of green power to 15 per cent," he said.

Over the outlook, Balakrishnan said government's concerted efforts to stimulate investment across several sectors will have a favourable impact on improving the overall economic environment in the country.

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

"Prediction of a normal monsoon will augur well for the rural economy. We maintain a positive outlook for demand in the coming months," he said.

ACC is a subsidiary of Swiss building material major Holcim group (earlier LafargeHolcim).

In May, Holcim had signed a binding agreement with the Adani Group to sell its business in India, comprising it's 63.11 per cent stake in Ambuja Cement, which owns a 50.05 per cent interest in ACC, as well as its 4.48 per cent direct stake in ACC.

Shares of ACC on Thursday settled at Rs 2,156.40 a piece on the BSE, down 0.75 per cent from the previous close.