Excellent Performance By Gujarat Ambuja Cement for the 3rd quater ending March 2004
Sales Volume Up - 18% at 559.10 Crores
Profit After Tax up - 106% at 145.23 Crores
Declares 50% Interim Divident
Gujarat Ambuja Cements Limited has achieved outstanding
results in the 3rd quarter ending March
2004. The
companys
Net
Profit After Tax
has gone up to
Rs.
145.23 crores
as against Rs. 70.63
crores in the previous year, an
increase of
106%.
Turnover
for the quarter increased to
Rs.
559.10 crores
from Rs. 472.11 crores, an increase of
18%.Due to continuous cost reductions, high productivity and good prices,
the company has posted
good performance. The
Operating Margin
has gone up to
39%
from 31%. The
Interest Expenses
are
at
Rs.
18.92 crores
as against Rs. 19.04 crores. After providing for
Depreciation
of
Rs. 41.16 crores
(Rs. 43.19 crores in the previous year),
Profit Before Tax
is
Rs. 155.53 crores
as against Rs. 82.56
crores, an increase of
88%.
After providing for
tax
of
Rs. 10.30 crores
(Rs. 11.93 crores), the
Profit
After Tax
is
Rs. 145.23 crores
as against Rs. 70.63 crores, an increase of
106%.
Encouraged by the buoyant results the Board of Directors
in its Board Meeting held today have
proposed to pay an
Interim Dividend
of
50%
for the financial year ending June 2004 on the fully
diluted equity share capital of Rs. 176.55 crores post conversion of the
FCCB Bonds into Equity
Shares.
AMBUJA CEMENT RAJASTHAN LIMITED
POST NET PROFIT OF RS. 14.32 CRORES AGAINST THE LOSS OF
RS. 6.17 CRORES
Ambuja Cement Rajasthan Limited, an associate of Gujarat
Ambuja Cements Limited has turned out
an excellent performance for the quarter ended March 2004. ACRL has earned
a
Net
Profit
of
Rs.14.32
crores against a loss of Rs. 6.17 crores.
During the quarter the company sold
3.94
lac tonnes
of cement as against 4.18 lac tonnes of
cement in the previous year.
Turnover
in the third quarter is up
35%
at
Rs.
91.98 crores
as against
Rs.68.06 crores in the previous year.
Due to continuous improvement in productivity and reduction
in cost of production the
Operating
Profit
is up
three folds
at
Rs. 29.93 crores
as against Rs 9.41 crores in the previous year.
O/P
margin
is up at
33%
as against 14%. The company posted a
Net
profit
of
Rs.
14.32 crores
as
against a net loss of Rs 6.17 crores.
Ambuja Cement Eastern Limited
Profit Before Tax Up 29% at Rs. 25.90 Crores
Ambuja Cement Eastern Limited, a subsidiary of Gujarat Ambuja
Cements Limited has performed
well during the third quarter
ending March 2004. During the quarter the company
sold
4.57 lac
tonnes
of cement as against 4.43 lac tonnes of cement
in the previous year, an increase of
3%
Turnover in the third quarter is up
6%
at
Rs. 116.02 crores
as against Rs. 109.50 crores.
The
Operating
Profit
is up at
Rs. 34.66 crores
as against Rs 30.05 crores in the previous year,
an increase of
15%.
Simultaneously
the
O/P margin
is up to
30%
as compared to 27%.
The
Interest Expenses
are lower at
Rs. 2.51
crores
as against Rs 3.88 crores,
a reduction of
35%
on account of reduction in debt and lowering of interest rates. After
providing for
Depreciation
of
Rs. 6.25
crores
(Rs. 6.15 crores in the previous year),
Profit
Before Tax
is
Rs. 25.90 crores
as
against Rs. 20.02 crores, an increase of
29%.
There is no current tax liability due to unabsorbed
losses. However, after
providing for deferred tax of Rs. 9.76 crores
(Rs. Nil in the previous year)
the
Profit
After Tax
is
Rs. 16.14 crores
as against Rs. 20.02 crores.
Ambuja Group
Turnover at a high of Rs. 767 crores an increase of 18%
Consolidated Profit After Tax up 104% to Rs. 161 crores
|
3Q 2004 |
3Q2003 |
Growth (%) |
|
| Sales |
767 |
650 |
18 |
| Profit Before Tax |
196 |
96 |
104 |
| Profit After Tax * |
161 |
79 |
104 |
*Excluding minority interest
Cement demand started picking up from December 2003 and it has been
growing during the last few months.
Cement prices have recovered in most markets after having touched all time low
in
September - November 2003.
Cement demand is expected to accelerate in the coming years due to
good
economic growth in the economy.
Anil
Singhvi,
Executive Director