Key Points
- India Cements reported a net loss of ₹240 crore for Q2 FY2024, compared to ₹81 crore last year.
- Revenue fell to ₹1017 crore from ₹1222 crore.
- Weak cement demand and a 13% drop in net plant realisation (NPR) led to a negative EBITDA of ₹154 crore.
- Volumes increased 17% from Q1, but the company could not offset the lower prices.
- For the first half of FY2024, cement volumes were 42.63 lakh tonnes, down from 50.36 lakh tonnes last year.
Looma News
India Cements, which was recently acquired by UltraTech Cement, reported a sharp increase in its net loss for Q2 FY2024. The company posted a net loss of ₹240 crore, up from ₹81 crore in the same quarter last year. This was mainly due to falling cement prices and weak market conditions. For the first half of FY2024, India Cements saw a loss of ₹203 crore, compared to ₹155 crore last year.
The company’s performance was mainly impacted by slow cement demand, which only rose by 3% in Q2 after a decline in Q1. Overall, cement demand grew by just 1.6% in the first half of the year, much lower than the 10% growth seen in the same period last year. As a result, revenue dropped to ₹1017 crore, compared to ₹1222 crore last year.
Even though cement volumes increased by 17% from Q1 to Q2, this growth wasn’t enough to offset the impact of lower prices. The company’s net plant realisation (NPR) fell by 13%, leading to a negative EBITDA of ₹154 crore for the quarter, compared to ₹14 crore in the same period last year. This drop in EBITDA was worsened by the company’s inability to fully take advantage of lower fuel costs, particularly for pet coke, as lower volumes hurt margins.
In terms of volume, India Cements recorded 23.02 lakh tonnes in Q2, which was a slight drop from 23.70 lakh tonnes in Q2 FY2023, but a significant rise from 19.61 lakh tonnes in Q1 FY2024. For the first half of the fiscal year, cement volumes were 42.63 lakh tonnes, down from 50.36 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
