UltraTech Cement Q4 profit jumps 36%, 700% dividend recommended

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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UltraTech Cement recorded a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹2,258 crore for the January to March 2024 quarter compared to a profit of ₹1,666 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, the firm’s financial results showed on April 29. The 36% jump in profit beats CNBC-TV18 estimates poll projection of ₹2,050 crore.

The cement maker’s revenue at ₹20,419 crore for the quarter under review also came in 2% higher than the poll estimates of ₹19,975. In the same quarter of the previous fiscal, the firm had seen a revenue of ₹18,662 crore.

With an EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of ₹4,114 crore for the fourth quarter of the fiscal, the firm’s margin rose to 20.1%.

UltraTech Cement’s Board of Directors have recommended a dividend of 700% at the rate of ₹70 per equity share of face value of ₹10 per share, aggregating ₹2,020.84 crore. “In terms of the provisions of the Finance Act, 2020, the dividend shall be taxed in the hands of shareholders at applicable rates of tax and the Company shall withhold tax at source appropriately, the firm said in its exchange filing.

The company recorded volume growth of 13% during FY24, backed by 11% during Q4FY24 and achieved full year EBITDA/mt of ₹1, 101.

The firm added that coal and petcoke (fuel) prices witnessed a drop during FY24. “The Company’s imported fuel consumption cost during Q4FY24 was 13% lower than Q4FY23 and it remained flat QoQ. Effective capacity utilization was 98% during the quarter and 85% for the full year.”

During the year, UltraTech added 13.27 mtpa grey cement capacity across locations. It further commissioned greenfield cement capacities at Karur, Tamil Nadu and Kukurdih, Chhattisgarh of 2. 7 mtpa each, aggregating to 5.4 mtpa in April, 2024.

During the quarter, UltraTech acquired a 0.54 mtpa cement grinding asset of Burnpur Cement Limited, located at Patratu in Jharkhand, marking its entry into the state of Jharkhand. It also entered into an agreement to purchase a grinding asset with an installed capacity of 1.1 mtpa in addition to a captive railway siding, at Parli, Maharashtra from The India Cements Limited.

It is also working on a brownfield capacity expansion of 1.2 mtpa at the Parli grinding unit as well as expanding its grinding unit at Dhule, Maharashtra from 1.8 mtpa to 3.6 mtpa, the firm said in its statement.

Shares of UltraTech Cement Ltd ended at ₹9,984.00, up by ₹283.80, or 2.93% on the BSE.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow