The India Cements Ltd. (ICL) has reported a net loss of Rs.11.68 crore for the quarter ended December, 2014 against a marginal profit of Rs.42 lakh in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Total income from operations stood at Rs.1,040.22 crore for the quarter under review, up marginally from Rs.1,037.64 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Interest charges were higher at Rs.104 crore (Rs.80 crore). Depreciation charges stood at Rs.66 crore (Rs.69 crore).
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director N. Srinivasan said that the increased net plant realisation helped the company offset the cost increase and drop in sales volume.
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Consequently, the EBIDTA (earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and amortisation) had improved to Rs.163 crore (Rs.146 crore) during the quarter under review, he pointed out.
He said cement demand in the South had been almost flat. In this context, he pointed to the capacity utilisation which stood at an abysmal 56 per cent for the company this quarter as against 63 per cent in the same quarter last year. If one went purely by price, the performance of the company this quarter should be better, he added. To a question, he expressed optimism that that the current cement prices would hold in this quarter as well.
The board of directors of the company reappointed Ms. Rupa Gurunath as Wholetime Director for a further period of five years with effect from March 5, 2015, subject to necessary approvals.
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