Dalmia Bharat Q2 profit falls 77 pc to Rs 47 crore

New Delhi: Cement maker Dalmia Bharat Ltd on Wednesday reported a 76.84 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 47 crore for the quarter ended September.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 203 crore during the July-September quarter a year ago, Dalmia Bharat said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations increased 15.11 per cent to Rs 2,971 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 2,581 crore.

Dalmia Bharat's total expenses rose nearly 29 per cent to Rs 2,980 crore in the latest quarter under review.

Sales volume increased 13.72 per cent in the September quarter to 5.8 Million Tonnes (MT) compared to the year-ago period.

Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Managing Director and CEO Mahendra Singhi said that despite a seasonally weak quarter, "we are encouraged with recent momentum in prices and volumes." "Our past investments in strengthening our operational efficiencies and cost rationalisations have enabled us to maintain our low-cost leadership," he added.

Meanwhile, the company has declared an interim dividend of 200 per cent, which is Rs 4 per equity share.

"We expect profitability to significantly improve for the rest of the year as the benefits of correction in fuel prices will start getting reflected in the current quarter. I am cautiously optimistic about the opportunity that lies ahead," Singhi said.

Shares of the company settled at Rs 1,587.30 on BSE, down 1.08 per cent from the previous close.