Kolkata

Birla Corporation Ltd on Saturday reported a strong year-on-year growth of 71 per cent in its consolidated net profit, which stood at Rs 53 crore for the quarter ended December.

The cement maker had recorded a net profit of Rs 31 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year, according to a company statement.

Operating performance also improved during the quarter despite what the company described as a difficult market scenario. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 18.4 per cent to Rs 312 crore, compared to Rs 263 crore in the year-ago period.

However, consolidated revenue declined 4.1 per cent to Rs 2,178 crore from Rs 2,272 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The company attributed the fall primarily to a 6 per cent drop in cement sales volumes, which stood at 4.23 million tonnes, along with a 4–6 per cent decline in cement prices across major markets.

The cement division recorded an improvement in operating margins, with EBITDA margin increasing to 14.8 per cent from 11.9 per cent a year earlier. Production costs in the cement business fell 4 per cent year-on-year, while EBITDA per tonne rose 23.4 per cent to Rs 702.

During the quarter, Birla Corporation made a provision of Rs 34 crore towards the anticipated impact of the new labour codes introduced by the Union government.

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The Kolkata-based company said it continues to focus on cost rationalisation initiatives and is working to optimise its product portfolio and geographic mix to enhance capacity utilisation across its manufacturing units.