Ambuja Cements Ltd, part of the Adani Group, has reported an 11 per cent QoQ increase in revenue in the quarter ended 31 December 2022. Net revenue for the three-month period came in at INR80,360m (US$972.95m), compared to INR72,450m in the previous quarter, and INR77,100m in the same period a year earlier.
EBITDA in the December 2022 quarter stood at INR11,380m, up from INR4360m in the previous quarter but down from INR12,130m in the same period in 2021. The EBITDA margin in the December 2022 quarter was reported at 14.6 per cent, compared to 6.2 per cent in the previous quarter and 16.2 per cent in the quarter ended 31 December 2021. Profit after tax fell from INR4310m in the December 2021 quarter to INR510m in the quarter ended September 2022, before improving to INR4880m in the December 2022 quarter.
Sales volumes of cement and clinker stood at 13.7Mt in the quarter ended 31 December 2022, up from 12.8Mt in the previous quarter but down from 14.2Mt in the same period a year ago.
“During the quarter, the cement sector saw higher production and capacity utilisation on account of pickup in demand. The company has maintained a healthy top line and leadership position in its core markets with a stronger Ambuja and ACC product portfolio. EBITDA margins expanded due to relentless focus on reduction in fuel and logistics costs by leveraging synergies with group companies. Business initiatives are expected to further bring down operating cost, reduce clinker factor, reduce logistics cost, improve sales of blended cement and expand EBITDA margin. We expect cement demand to further grow in coming quarters on the back of increased infrastructure activities given sharp focus on infrastructure capex in this budget,” said Ajay Kapur, CEO, Ambuja Cements.
“Our focus to ramp up capacity in efficient way to ensure to be one of the lowest cost producers is on track. Ametha integrated unit is set to be commissioned by July 2023, which will increase kiln capacity by 3.3Mta (EC approvals in hand for 2.75Mta) and 1Mta grinding unit. We are making good progress on our planned WHRS installation target,” he added.
