Navigating extreme headwinds by cost and top-line management, through product, premium and geo-mix tweaking, helped Birla Corporation Limited post a September quarter consolidated EBITDA of Rs 194 crore against Rs 316 crore in the same period last year.
In the traditionally weak monsoon quarter, cement demand was sluggish and prices plummeted to record lows in all key markets. The Company’s EBITDA per ton from cement sales for the September quarter was at Rs 461 compared to Rs 683 in the same period last year. The Cement Division’s EBITDA margin at 9.8% for the September quarter represents a contraction of around 300 basis points from a year ago.
The Company’s consolidated revenue at Rs 1,970 crore was down from Rs 2,312 crore in the same period last year. Birla Corporation Limited’s cement sales by volume during the September quarter at 3.97 million tons (mt) was down 5% year-on-year, which is in line with industry estimates of a similar contraction in overall demand. Extended monsoons, floods and a slow pick-up in Government demand were largely responsible for the unusually weak demand.