Q4 Results: Grasim's profit up 15.5% to Rs 2,721.8 crore

Aditya Birla Group flagship holding firm Grasim Industries Ltd has reported an increase of 15.54 per cent in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,721.81 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2024, led by strong performance by its cement and financial services business.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,355.67 crore during the January-March quarter a year ago, according to a late night regulatory filing by Grasim Industries on Wednesday.

Its revenue from operations was up 12.74 per cent to Rs 37,727.13 crore during the quarter under review. It was at Rs 33,462.14 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The consolidated revenue was "at its highest levels," said an earning statement from Grasim Industries.

Grasim has an exceptional items charge of Rs 538 crore in the March quarter. Its consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter stood "at an all-time high" of Rs 6,196 crore, recording a growth of 27 per cent year-on-year (YoY), it said.

Total expenses of Grasim Industries' were at Rs 33,750.46 crore, up 11.18 per cent in the March quarter of FY24.

Its total income, which includes revenue from other sources, was up 13.27 per cent in the March quarter to Rs 38,154.36 crore.

Grasim's revenue from Cellulosic Fibres was marginally down to Rs 3,761.75 crore in the March quarter. It was at Rs 3,764.06 crore in Q4 of FY23.

"Demand in India during the quarter was impacted by the amendment in the MSME policy, which resulted in low inventory build-up in the textile value chain. The Cellulosic Fashion Yarn (CFY) business remains impacted by increased cheaper imports from China in an already weak demand market," it said.

Its revenue from Chemicals business was down 13.11 per cent to Rs 2,082.98 crore in the March quarter. It was at Rs 2,397.47 crore a year ago.

According to Grasim, caustic soda prices in domestic markets got impacted by the over-supply situation.

"The Chemicals business achieved its highest-ever caustic soda sales volume of 308 KT in Q4FY24, up 8 per cent YoY," it said.
However, the Building Material business reported a growth of 11.25 per cent to Rs 20,918.55 crore. It was at Rs 18,803.03 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago.

Grasim's 'Building Materials' comprises Cement business UltraTech, newly launched Paints business and B2B e-commerce businesses Birla Pivot.

The growth in the segment was led by Cement and B2B E-commerce business, it said. UltraTech reported 11 per cent growth in sales volumes in the March quarter.

Similarly, revenue from the financial services segment -- Aditya Birla Capital Ltd (ABCL) -- was up 29.51 per cent to Rs 10,483.77 crore. It was at Rs 8,094.51 crore a year ago.

Revenue from other segments, which includes mainly Textiles, Insulators and Renewable Power business was at Rs 789.85 crore, up 5.95 per cent.

For the financial year ended on March 31, 2024 Grasim Industries' net profit was down 10.4 per cent to Rs 9,925.65 crore. It was at Rs 11,078.20 crore in FY 2022-23.

However, revenue from operations in FY24 was up 11.35 per cent to Rs 1,30,978.48 crore. It was at Rs 1,17,627.08 crore a year ago.

This was "driven by strong underlying performance from its diversified businesses portfolio," said Grasim, adding "specifically, the Building Materials and Financial Services businesses delivered a superior performance." Meanwhile, in a separate filing Grasim Industries said the board has recommended a dividend of Rs 10 per equity share of face value of Rs 2 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2024.