A steep fall in the average net plant realisation (NPR) has dragged the net profit of The India Cements Ltd. (ICL) down to Rs.16.82 crore for the quarter ended June, 2013, from Rs.62.07 crore in the same quarter last year.
Income from operations rose to Rs.1,238.35 crore (Rs.1,201.37 crore) during the quarter under review.
Forex fluctuations
The Rs.27-crore hit due to fluctuations in foreign exchange market has also contributed to the decline in net profit. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, said the first quarter report card should be seen in the context of a capacity over-hang in the south, softer prices in markets such as Andhra Pradesh, where the company sold the most, and rising input cost. “We have managed the variable cost,’’ he said, blaming the slump in NPR for the drop in net profit.
Average realisation
The NPR for the quarter under review stood at Rs.3,185 (Rs.3,550) a tonne, shaving off nearly Rs.100 crore from the top-line. This was primarily responsible for the drop in EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortisation).
‘Prices need to go up’
Mr. Srinivasan said “prices need to go up.’’ A host of cost increases had not been passed on to consumers, he said. Prices, however, had dropped considerably, he pointed out.
“We need restoration of prices,’’ he said. Stating that the decline in prices in the current excess-capacity situation was unwarranted, he felt the industry also betrayed “a lack of maturity’’. While unwilling to hazard any guess on how the prices would move in the coming days, he hoped the situation would improve what with better monsoon and stepped up spending as the country “goes into election mode”.
The company's shares ended down by 1.34 per cent at Rs. 44.20 on the BSE on Monday.
