Orient Cement Ltd reports loss as costs escalate

Orient Cement Ltd has posted revenue from operations of INR6152m (US$75.5m) in the quarter ended 30 September 2022. This is down from INR7139m in the previous year but up from the INR6161m posted in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, the company reported a net profit of INR568m in the quarter ended 30 September 2021, which fell to INR374m in the quarter ended 30 June 2022, and finally a loss of INR94.9m in the three months up to 30 September 2022.

Basic earnings per share have contracted from INR2.78 in the September 2021 quarter to -INR0.46 in the same period this year. Total expenses over the same period have risen from INR5304m to INR6301m, with power and fuel costs expanding from INR1340m to INR1936m.

In the half year ended 30 September 2022, revenue from operations came in at INR13,292m, up from INR13,040m in the comparable period in 2021. Over the same period, net profit dropped from INR1463m to INR279m, while basic earnings per share declined from INR7.14 to INR1.36.