Weak pricing drags Dalmia Bharat even as sales volume jump
Dalmia Bharat saw its operating profit made of each tonne of cement sold fall by more than a fifth in the March quarter as weak pricing overshadowed the volume growth clocked in by the cement-maker.
saw its operating profit made of each tonne of cement sold fall by more than a fifth in the March quarter as weak pricing overshadowed the volume growth clocked in by the cement-maker.Its operating profit per tonne fell to 743 rupees from 955 rupees a year ago, while the total operating profit for the quarter fell nearly 8% to Rs 654 crores from Rs 710 crore a year ago.
The New Delhi-based cement producer had a sales volume of 8.8 million tonne during the quarter, a sharp 18.5% higher as compared to the year ago. This also helped sales jump by 10% to Rs 4,307 crore. The company’s net profit, though, nearly halved to Rs 320 crore from Rs 609 crore a year ago.
“…unexpected drop in cement prices led to EBITDA erosion during the quarter with EBITDA margin declining from 18.1% in Q4’23 to 15.2% in current quarter,” Dharmender Tuteja, the chief financial officer for the company said.
In 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), Dalmia Bharat saw its installed cement capacity increase by more than 15% to 44.6 million tonnes, while its sales volumes rose by nearly 12% on year to 28.8 million tonnes.
Operating profit during the year rose more than 13% to Rs 2,639 crore. “We will continue to work on gaining market share and improving realizations while deepening the cost leadership,” Puneet Dalmia, chief executive officer said.
The company also announced a final dividend of Rs 5 per share. It announced its earnings after market hours, and its shares closed at 1,962.80 rupees on the NSE, up 0.6% from the previous close.
Source: Stocks-Markets-Economic Times
