Shree Cement Q3 profit falls 41.61% to Rs 281.83 cr

New Delhi: Shree Cement Ltd on Wednesday reported a 41.61 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 281.83 crore in the third quarter that ended December 2022 due to an increase in input cost.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 482.70 crore in the October-December quarter last fiscal, Shree Cement said in a regulatory filing.

Its revenue from operations was up 18.20 per cent to Rs 4,299.26 crore as against Rs 3,637.11 crore in the year-ago period.

During the quarter, Shree Cement "total volume increased YoY by 23 per cent from 6.55 million tonnes to 8.03 million tonnes," the company said in its earnings updates.

Shree Cement's total expenses were at Rs 4,085.28 crore, higher 30.47 per cent in Q3 of FY23.

In the quarter gone by, there has been strong momentum in cement demand due to a rise in construction activities, it said.

Commenting on the results, Shree Cement Managing Director Neeraj Akhoury said: "Shree Cement continues its strong focus on operational efficiencies to mitigate increase in the input costs including fuel.

"We are determined to become the greenest cement company with global scale performance on power mix. We are continuing to strengthen our technology fundamentals with digitalization and this will enable us to create a significant advancement on customer satisfaction." The board of Shree Cement has declared an interim dividend of Rs 45 per share for the year 2022-23.

Over the capex plan, it said: "The company has been actively working on achieving its goal of having 80 million tonnes capacity by year 2030." While giving an outlook for the sector Shree Cement said given the government’s focus on infrastructure growth in the union Budget 2023-24 through higher allocation for road construction projects, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), capital investment outlay, etc. and other overall buoyancy in the economy, cement sector is poised for robust growth in coming years.

"However, rising input costs led by higher fuel prices may impact the margins," it said.

Shares of Shree Cement Ltd on Wednesday were trading at Rs 23,991.85 on BSE, down 1.18 per cent from the previous close.