Dalmia Cement (Bharat) reports rise in 3Q volumes

Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31 December 2014, reporting a YoY increase in volumes and income.

Income rose to INR7.94bn from INR7.07bn in 3Q14, led by a six per cent rise in volumes to 1.65Mt and a nine per cent increase in sales realisations. Power and fuel costs came down by 16 per cent per cent on a per tonne basis but were offset by increased freight costs and an increase in raw material costs for the north east operations.  Efficiency enhancements brought down costs in the group’s southern operations, while in the northeast volumes were up 22 per cent on QoQ basis and EBITDA improved significantly on YoY and QoQ basis.

The acquisition of Dalmia Cement East Ltd (formerly Bokaro Jaypee Cement Ltd) was completed during 3Q15. The quarterly results include financials of Dalmia Cement East Ltd, effective 16 November 2014.

On its outlook, the company said that macro economic factors are improving and further advances are expected. With higher GDP growth, impetus on the government's 'Make in India' strategy and further rate cuts expected, industrial production is expected to improve, resulting in improved cement demand. Improved demand and the rationalisation of capacity additions are anticipated to lead to improved utilisation rates.