The Ramco Cements Ltd, a part of the diversified conglomerate Ramco Group, on Thursday, posted a 22.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit at Rs 152 crore for the fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2023.

In the corresponding quarter last year, the company posted a net profit of Rs 124 crore. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted a profit of Rs 99.5 crore for the quarter under review.

In the March quarter, revenue stood at Rs 2,568 crore during the period under review, up 50.2 percent against Rs 1,710 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal. CNBC-TV18 Polls had predicted revenue of Rs 2,185 crore for the quarter under review.

At the operating level, EBITDA jumped 39.5 percent to Rs 412 crore in the fourth quarter of this fiscal over Rs 295.4 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal.

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EBITDA margin stood at 16 percent in the reporting quarter as compared to 17.4 percent in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.

Sale of Cement and Dry Mortar Products

During the current quarter, the sale of cement and dry mortar products was 4.70 million tonne, compared to 3.23 million tonne in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal with an impressive volume growth of 46 percent. During FY23, the sale of cement and dry mortar products is 15.02 million tonne, compared to 11.14 million tonne in FY22 with a volume growth of 35 percent.

While the average net realisable price of cement was flat during the year, the elevated prices of pet coke/coal have dented the margins. Further, the transportation cost by rail has increased by 15 percent due to the re-imposition of the busy season surcharge from October 1, 2022, and the increase in diesel price by 3 percent during FY23 has pushed up the inbound and outbound logistics cost.

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During Q4, blended EBITDA per tonne is Rs 917, compared to Rs 956 in 04FY22 with a de-growth of 4 percent. Blended EBITDA per tonne for FY23 is Rs 823 as against Rs 1,190 during FY22. During Q4FY23, the operating ratio is 16 percent compared to 18 percent in 04FY22 with a de-growth of 2 percent. The operating ratio for FY23 is 15 percent, as against 22 percent during FY22 with a de-growth of 7 percent.

Net Debt

The net debt for the company as on March 31, 2023, is Rs 4,351 crores, out of which Rs 478 crore isa for working capital. The net debt to EBITDA for FY23 is 3.57 as against 2.88 in FY22. The average cost of interest-bering borrowings for FY23 increased to 6.35 percent from 5.22 percent in FY22.

(Edited by : Pradeep John)

First Published:May 18, 2023 5:15 PM IST