The Business Bytes
NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 20, 2024 (TBB BUREAU): Dalmia Bharat Ltd, one of India’s leading cement manufacturers, announced a sharp 60.16 percent drop in its consolidated net profit for the September quarter, citing a decline in cement prices as a key factor. The company posted a net profit of Rs 49 crore, significantly lower than the Rs 123 crore recorded during the same period last year, according to a regulatory filing on Saturday.
Revenue from operations also saw a slight dip, decreasing by 2.09 percent to Rs 3,087 crore, compared to Rs 3,153 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. Total expenses for the quarter mirrored the revenue at Rs 3,087 crore, reflecting a marginal increase.
Despite these financial setbacks, Dalmia Bharat reported a solid 14.1 percent rise in sales volume, reaching 6.7 million tonnes (MT) in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. However, the total income for the cement giant dipped by 2.28 percent to Rs 3,160 crore.
Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director & CEO of Dalmia Bharat Limited, remained optimistic about the long-term prospects of the cement sector, highlighting India’s infrastructure development. “India’s economic resilience with the Government’s sustained thrust on building infrastructure and promoting the manufacturing sector underpins my conviction in India’s growth. I believe that as India grows, the cement sector, being a proxy, will continue to flourish. We are actively working to announce our Phase II expansions within the next 9 months and achieve our interim milestone of 75MnT by FY28,” he said.
The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Dharmender Tuteja, also emphasized volume growth, stating, “We delivered a strong volume growth of 8.4 percent year-on-year in Q2 FY25. However, the continuous and unprecedented softness in cement prices resulted in revenue declining 2.1 percent to Rs 3,087 crore, and EBITDA falling 26.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 434 crore for the quarter.”
Tuteja added that while external challenges have affected profitability, the company remains committed to long-term cost drivers to improve margins. Notably, in the September quarter, Dalmia Bharat commissioned a 16 MW captive solar power plant in Sattur, Tamil Nadu, bringing its total renewable energy capacity to 202 MW.
With a consolidated installed capacity of 46.6 MT, Dalmia Bharat continues to hold its position as the fourth-largest cement manufacturer in India, despite the short-term financial headwinds.
