Ambuja Cement has reported standalone net revenue of INR42,560m (US$520.1m) in the quarter ended 31 March 2023, up from INR39,270m in the same quarter a year earlier, marking 8.4 per cent YoY growth. This growth comes despite the adverse impact on volumes of halting operations at the company’s Himachal Pradesh plants for 50 days during the three-month period.
EBITDA over the same period advanced from INR8250m to INR9620m, while the EBITDA margin has improved from 21 to 22.6 per cent. Profit after tax has expanded from INR4940m in the quarter ended 31 March 2022 to INR5020m in the same quarter a year later.
In terms of sales volumes, the company sold 8.1Mt of cement and clinker in the quarter ended 31 March 2023, compared to 7.5Mt in the same quarter a year earlier. This brings the total sales volumes for January 2022 to March 2023 to 37.8Mt. The sustained volume growth is being attributed to an increase in blended cement, with the clinker factor reduced from 62.5 to 60.6 per cent, better route planning and improved operational synergies with its subsidiary, ACC. Meanwhile, waste heat recovery system projects at Marwar, Bhatapara and Rauri have been commissioned for 33MW, while similar projects at Suli, Ambujanagar and Maratha for 48MW are being implemented and progressing well.
Ajay Kapur, director and CEO, Ambuja Cement, said, “We are pleased to report another strong performance of Ambuja Cement which has been driven by our strategic initiatives on business excellence, operational efficiencies and synergies. Our focus on operational excellence and cost optimisation measures has yielded improved profitability. We have been able to maintain our growth trajectory and further strengthen our position in the market. With the rise in construction activities across our markets, we see the continuation of the elevated demand and strong volumes in the coming quarters as well."
