Birla 2Q16 net profit more than doubles

Birla Corporation have reported a net profit of INR584m (US$8.49m) for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 compared to INR232m for the same period last year.

Total income declined 4.3 per cent to INR8.86bn in the July-September quarter from INR9.27bn in the previous year. Total expenses also fell, registering at INR8.43bn versus INR8.99bn in the corresponding quarter last year.

In the same period, Birla Corp completed its acquisition of Reliance Infrastructure’s Reliance Cement Company Pvt Ltd (RCCPL). In its BSE filing, Birla Corp said: "Pursuant to the share purchase agreement, the company has acquired 100 per cent shares of [RCCPL] from Reliance Infrastructure on August 22, 2016 for an enterprise value of [INR48bn]. A sum of [INR21.61bn] has been paid/deposited towards purchase consideration of shares.”

RCCPL has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Birla Corp. The acquisition was funded with existing cash reserved and incremental debt. RCCPL’s assets will take Birla Corp’s production capacity from 10Mta to 15.5Mta.