Birla Corporation Q3 Net Profit Down 71% to Rs 31 Cr

New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI) M P Birla Group firm Birla Corporation Ltd on Tuesday said it has reported a 71.42 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 31.19 crore in the December quarter, impacted by lower sales realisation of the cement business.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 109.14 crore in the October-December period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from Birla Corporation.

The company's revenue from operations declined 2.32 per cent to Rs 2,256.65 crore during the December quarter. It was Rs 2,310.44 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.

Its total expenses were at Rs 2,230.73 crore, down 2.64 per cent in the December quarter.

Birla Corporation's revenue from the cement business was down 3.38 per cent to Rs 2,155.58 crore in the December quarter though its sales volume rose on the back of improvement in market conditions.

"The company's consolidated cement sales by volume in the December quarter rose 7 per cent to 4.5 million tonnes (mt) versus 4.2 mt in the same period a year ago, which represents a capacity utilisation of 92 per cent (85 per cent last year)," Birla Corporation said in its earnings statement.

However, the company's realisation from cement sales during the December quarter at Rs 4,781 per tonne was 9.5 per cent lower than last year due to lower prices in Maharashtra and central India, it added.

Its revenue from the Jute segment grew 27.23 per cent to Rs 101.25 crore.

The performance of the Jute division was impacted by a drop in the government orders and higher raw material and conversion costs. This resulted in the division reporting a cash loss of Rs 4.60 crore for the December quarter.

"However, the division registered a 108 per cent jump in overseas sales of value-added products during the quarter," it said.

Total expenses, which includes other income, were 2.35 per cent lower at Rs 2,272.07 crore in the December quarter.

On the outlook, the company said now the cement prices have started to firm up and improved realisation is expected to support healthy growth in the quarters ahead.

Shares of Birla Corporation Ltd settled at Rs 1,171.65 apiece, up 2.8 per cent on the BSE.