Birla Corporation Limited continued its steady progress of the first three quarters of fiscal 2023-24 to end the year on a high, with record cement sales by volume and a 127% growth in net profit in the March quarter, despite unusually weak market conditions. After steady
ramping up of the Mukutban unit, the Company’s Cement Division achieved a capacity utilization of 97% for the March quarter—yet another milestone.
Consolidated net profit for the March quarter, at Rs 193 crore, represents a year-on-year growth of 127.1%, as power and fuel costs continued to be moderate. Consolidated revenue for the quarter at Rs 2,682 crore grew 6.8% from the same period last year, even as realization from cement in the March quarter came under intense pressure and fell 1.6% year-on-year to
Rs 5,178 per ton.
“Birla Corporation’s performance in fiscal 2023-24 is the result of all-round improvement in performance in all areas of operations,” said Shri Harsh VardhanLodha, Chairman. “The investment in capacity-building across functional verticals is reflected in the impressive ramp-up of the Mukutban unit, ahead of the guidance given by the Company.”
The Board of Birla Corporation’s wholly-owned subsidiary, RCCPL Private Limited, on Thursday, 2 May 2024, approved an investment of Rs 425 crore to augment the capacity of its Kundanganj unit by 1.4 million tons within two years. A third of the proposed investment will come from internal accruals. As cement consumption in India continues to grow, Birla
Corporation is rolling out its next phase of capacity addition with the aim of increasing cement production to 25 million tons by fiscal 2026-27.
Cement prices remained weak through the last two quarters owing to multiple factors and disruptions such as Assembly elections in key geographies. Defying trends of earlier years, demand was exceptionally weak in the March quarter, which forced major players to roll back prices.