Ambuja Cements Continues Performing Well on Sales and Revenue Growth, Accelerates Its Growth Plans

28 Apr 2022 , 07:00 PM

Business Wire India

Quarter 1, 2022

• Net sales growth of 8% and volume growth of 3%
• Recently commissioned Marwar cement plant at Rajasthan, operating at full scale
• Board approval for Waste Heat Recovery project at Ambujanagar and Maratha. Total capacity to reach ~87 MW
• EBITDA at Rs. 790 Crore, impacted by significant rise in fuel prices, partly mitigated by strong delivery of efficiency programs under ‘I CAN’

Standalone unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2022
 

	Jan-Mar 22 Quarter	Jan-Mar 21 Quarter
Sales Volume – Cement & Clinker	Million Tonnes	7.49	7.24
Net Sales	Rs Crore	3,855	3,579
Total operating costs	Rs Crore	3,135	2,645
EBITDA	Rs Crore	790	977
EBITDA Margin	%	20.5%	27.3%
Operating EBIT	Rs Crore	639	851
Operating EBIT Margin	%	16.6%	23.8%
Profit before tax	Rs Crore	654	886
Profit after tax	Rs Crore	495	665

 

Mr. Neeraj Akhoury, CEO, Holcim India and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Ambuja Cements Limited said, “We are focused to be the most innovative and sustainable company by offering advanced environment-friendly construction products to our customers. The India Strategy 2025 for both Ambuja and ACC is under execution. Under this plan, we will realise industry-leading position in cost excellence, asset optimization and sustainability.
 
Our new Marwar cement plant is now operating at full capacity. Our additional cement capacity expansions of around 9 million tons at Ropar and Bhatapara are on track. Our plan is to grow Cement capacity to 100 million tons per annum.
 
Ambuja has recorded robust top line growth of 8%. Our market focused strategies are driving this performance. Ambuja Kawach, our green cement, has demonstrated growth of 66% year on year. Ambuja Cements has been ranked as India’s Most Trusted Cement Brand in 2022 by TRA Research.
 
The January to March 2022 quarter was impacted by rising fuel prices due to which EBITDA during the quarter was lower by 19%. This was partly mitigated by boosting efficiencies under our flagship ‘I CAN’ program. Supported by the Master Supply Agreement with ACC we further reduced our logistics costs.
 
The ongoing and new investments in the Waste Heat Recovery Systems approved by the Board will support our efficiency initiatives and lead to the delivery of our sustainability goals.”

Financial performance for the quarter ended 31st March 2022
 

• Net Sales during the quarter increased to Rs. 3,855 Crore compared to Rs. 3,579 Crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, resulting in a growth of 8%
• On the cost, freight cost per ton declined 5% year on year supported by logistics efficiencies. Despite this gain, total operating cost per ton rose by 15%, due to increased fuel costs
• EBITDA during the quarter is Rs. 790 Crore and Operating EBIT is Rs. 639 Crore

Consolidated unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2022
 

Consolidated
	Jan-Mar 22 Quarter	Jan-Mar 21 Quarter
Net Sales	Rs Crore	7,754	7,617
EBITDA	Rs Crore	1,424	1,838
EBITDA Margin	%	18.4%	24.1%
Operating EBIT	Rs Crore	1,119	1,570
Operating EBIT Margin	%	14.4%	20.6%
Net income attributable to Ambuja Group	Rs Crore	659	947

Performance of ACC Limited, a Material Subsidiary
 

• Net Sales during the quarter increased by 3% to Rs. 4,322 Crore compared to Rs. 4,213 Crore last year
• Profit after tax at Rs. 396 Crore
• Efficiency project ‘Parvat’ helped deliver 1% lower per ton Freight & Forwarding cost despite fuel inflation. Strict cost control measures enabled reduction in fixed cost vs previous year

 

COVID-19 update

Health and Safety continues to remain our key priority. Strict adherence to government guidelines and Covid appropriate behaviour are ensured across our locations. We continue to monitor the situation and take proactive steps to build a safe and healthy working environment.

Outlook

We remain very optimistic on cement demand growth with key indicators such as GST collection, power demand and e-invoice point towards a recovery of the domestic economy. Government’s focus on infrastructure & housing and the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for the manufacturing sector will further provide impetus to cement demand growth.