Star Cement announces 90% net profit increase

Star Cement reported a standalone net profit of INR219.9m (US$3.37m) for the 2Q17 period ended 30 September 2017, a 89.9 per cent increase from the INR108m seen in the year-ago period. The revenue for the company fell to INR2.57bn from INR2.89bn in 2Q16. Star Cement reported EBITDA of INR530m for the second quarter of 2017, according to The Economic Times. The cost of expenses decreased to INR2.32bn from INR2.78bn of the corresponding quarter in 2016.

In 1H17 the company saw a net profit of INR904m, which is an increase of INR730.2m upon previous year (1H16: INR173.8m). Revenue for the first half of the year finished at INR6.71bn when compared to INR6.50bn of 1H16. The cost of expenses totalled INR5.7bn in 1H17, decreasing from INR6.3bn in the year-ago period.

Elsewhere, Sri Chakra Cement announced for the 2Q17 period a net loss of INR31.8m compared to a INR55.1m net profit of the year-ago period. In the same quarter, the net revenue of the company rose by 14.61 per cent YoY to INR497.4m from INR434m. However, operating expenses also increased by 44 per cent to INR527m from INR366m in the 2Q16. The cement producer's operating profit dropped 144 per cent YoY to turn into a loss of INR-29.9m in 2Q17.

Udaipur Cement Works Ltd has also posted a net loss of INR-234.9m in 2Q17 when compared to the  INR-10.1m loss in the corresponding period of the previous year. The company also posted a revenue of INR800m, a significant hike from INR170m in the 2Q16 period.