UltraTech Cement first-quarter profit rises on strong volumes
AI Summary
UltraTech Cement reported a nearly 17% increase in first-quarter profit, driven by strong sales volumes, and announced plans to significantly boost capacity addition by fiscal 2028. Despite rising fuel costs, the company's ability to absorb these expenses has positioned it favorably compared to smaller competitors, leading to a 2.3% rise in its share price following the results.
UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement producer by capacity, reported a near 17% rise in first-quarter profit on Monday and unveiled plans to increase capacity addition in fiscal 2028, helped by strong sales volumes.
The strong results suggest UltraTech used its scale and market position to absorb higher fuel costs linked to the West Asia conflict better than smaller rivals.
Prices of petcoke and coal, key fuels for cement kilns, remained elevated during the quarter. Although cement makers raised prices by about 2.5% to 3%, much of the benefit was offset by higher costs.
Consolidated net profit rose to ₹2,599 crore in the quarter ended June 30 from ₹2,226 crore a year earlier.
Revenue from operations rose about 16% to ₹24,648 crore, while sales volumes climbed 12.2% to 41.31 million tonnes.
The company also expects a cement capacity addition of 29.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) in fiscal 2028, compared with its planned addition of 15.9 MTPA in 2027.
Shares of the company rose as much as 2.3% to ₹12,001 after results.
Original Article
Published on Hindu BusinessLine