ACC profit soars 4-fold to Rs 537.67 crore, revenue up 8.3% to Rs 4,914 crore

Cement maker ACC Ltd on Thursday reported a more than four-fold jump in net profit to Rs 537.67 crore in the quarter ended in December 2023 helped by enhanced production efficiency and a reduction in kiln fuel cost.

The company had posted a profit of Rs 113.19 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, ACC, now a part of Adani group, said in a BSE filing.

Its revenue from operations was up 8.31 per cent to Rs 4,914.36 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 4,536.97 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

"Operating EBITDA (excluding other income) has grown 139 per cent, EBITDA margin expanded by 10 pp from 8.4 per cent to 18.4 per cent," said an earning statement from ACC.

ACC's operational excellence initiatives continue to help in improvement of "productivity, performance and optimisation of cost," it added.

Moreover, its Kiln fuel cost was also reduced 28 per cent, driven by the optimisation of fuel mix and higher consumption of alternative fuels.

Helped by such factors, ACC Ltd's total expenses in the December quarter were down 1.61 per cent to Rs 4,278.78 crore as against Rs 4,349.23 crore of Q3 of FY23.

In the October-December quarter, ACC's sales volume from Cement & Clinker was up 17.1 per cent to 8.9 million tonnes.

ACC's revenue from the cement business was up 9.76 per cent to Rs 4,646.04 crore as against Rs 4,232.64 crore in the corresponding quarter.

However, revenue from ready-mix concrete was down 19.54 per cent to Rs 300.02 crore as against Rs 372.91 crore a year ago.

Total income of ACC in the December quarter was up 9.23 per cent to Rs 5,000.51 crore.

ACC Whole Time Director & CEO Ajay Kapur said: "ACC's financial performance has seen a complete turnaround in the last 12 months.

Recent capacity additions have taken the Adani Group's cement capacity to 77.4 MPTA.

This will enable volume and revenue growth on a sustainable basis.” Adani Group had completed the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC Ltd from Switzerland's Holcim Group for USD 6.4 billion in September 2022.

Over the outlook, the company said cement demand in India will continue to grow at 7-8 per cent, primarily fuelled by investments in infrastructure and large-scale residential housing projects.

"This growth aligns strategically with the broader economic development goals of the country, as we move from a USD 3.5 trillion to USD 7.3 trillion economy by 2030," it said adding"Opportunity buy of low-cost petcoke will help to further optimise fuel costs in the coming quarters and will augur well in our cost optimisation journey."

ACC shares surged 14 per cent to hit a 52-week-high of Rs 2,551 on BSE after the announcement of results.

The stock closed 11.74 per cent high at Rs 2,498.75 on BSE.