Shree Cement Q3 Profit Plunges 72.4%, Sales Down - News

New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Shree Cement Ltd, the country's third largest cement group by capacity, on Thursday reported a 72.4 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 193.72 crore for the third quarter ended December 2024 on account of lower sales volume.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 701.85 crore in the October-December period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from the Bangur family-promoted Shree Cement Ltd (SCL).

Its revenue from operations was down 12 per cent to Rs 4,572.68 crore during the quarter under review. It was at Rs 5,193.47 crore in the corresponding quarter of the preceding fiscal.

Total expenses of SCL were at Rs 4,458.75 crore, marginally up in the third quarter of FY'25.

SCL's total sales volume was down 1.34 per cent to 8.77 million tonnes in the December quarter. It was at 8.89 million tonnes in the corresponding period of FY'24.

However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, SCL's total sale volumes were up by 15 per cent from 7.60 million tonnes.

During the quarter, SCL's Power & fuel cost was "optimised by 9 per cent to Rs 913 crore" due to softer fuel prices and operational efficiency sequentially.

Similarly, SCL's EBITDA has increased to Rs 947 crore and reported a marginal increase in sales of premium products on a sequential basis.

Commenting on the performance Managing Director Neeraj Akhoury said:"Our strategy of prioritising premium, high-value products coupled with sharp focus on brand enhancement, strengthening the dealer network and optimising the geo-mix has enabled us to improve our sale volumes.

"Looking ahead, we remain committed to increasing the volume of our premium product offerings and maintaining our relentless focus on further cost optimisation,” he said.

While updating over Capex Plans, SCL said its ongoing expansion projects in Jaitaran, Rajasthan (6.0 MTPA), Kodla, Karnataka (3.00 MTPA), Baloda Bazar, Chhattisgarh (3.40 MTPA), and Etah, Uttar Pradesh (3.00 MTPA) are nearing completion.

"The Company expects to commission all these projects in the first quarter of FY25-26," said SCL adding "the Company is continuously working to identify suitable opportunities to achieve its goal of achieving over 80 MTPA capacity by 2028."

Meanwhile, the SCL board at its meeting held on Thursday has declared interim D1v1dend of 500 per cent, which is Rs 50/- per share of Rs 10/- each for the year 2024-25.

Over the cement market outlook, SCL said it expects the demand to grow on the back of likely increase in rural consumption aided by improved farm cash flows, sustained healthy demand for urban housing and an expected increase in government spending on infrastructure projects.

This augurs well for the cement industry going forward," it said.

Shree Cement is the third largest cement-making firm, owning brands such as Roofon, Bangur Power, Shree Jung Rodhak, Bangur Cement and Rockstrong.

Shares of Shree Cement Ltd on Thursday settled at Rs 26,809.05 apiece on BSE, up 0.67 per cent from the previous close.