Cement manufacturer ACC Ltd on Thursday reported a 7 per cent dip in its consolidated net profit at Rs. 243.15 crore for the April-June quarter due to higher cost of manufacturing and distribution.
It had registered a profit of Rs. 261.76 crore in the same quarter of the last fiscal. Swiss major Holcim holds the majority stake in ACC, which follows January-December as its accounting year.
“Manufacturing and distribution costs continued to face escalation, though we derived some benefits from the ongoing cost leadership programme and an increase in the sales of premium products,” ACC Ltd said in a statement.
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Sales turnover rose to 3,009 crore against Rs. 2,790.38 crore in second quarter of last year. Operating margin of the company fell to Rs. 452.12 crore compared to Rs. 490.10 crore in the second quarter of 2013.
The company sold 6.35 million tonnes cement during the quarter compared to 6.12 million tonnes in the same period of the last year.
“Demand for cement showed some improvement and company’s overall sales volumes during the quarter improved by four per cent, as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year,” it said.
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“We expect the positive trend in demand for cement to continue as a result of government’s emphasis on housing and infrastructure development,” it added.
ACC Ltd said its current CEO and managing director Kuldip Kaura would demit office on August 12, 2014 and Harish Badami will assume office with effect from August 13, 2014.