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India Cements posts record profit

CHENNAI: India Cements Ltd. (ICL) has reported a record profit after tax of Rs. 406.05 crore on a gross turnover of Rs. 1,737.42 crore for the half-year ended September 2007, up from Rs. 229.91 crore on a gross turnover of Rs. 1,158.75 crore during the corresponding period last year.

The figures for the period under review include the financial performance of erstwhile Visaka Cement Industry, which was merged with ICL effective July 2006. The operating margin has improved to 39.7 per cent for the first half of 2007-08, up from 34 per cent in the same period last year.

The record profit comes even after providing Rs. 9.37 crore towards the estimated cost of employee stock option scheme.

Further, an additional Rs. 15.02 crore has been provided on account of AS (Accounting Standard) 15 issued by ICAI towards leave salary cost. The profit after tax for the quarter ended September 2007 has improved to Rs. 222.65 crore on gross sales Rs. 896.09 crore, up from Rs. 117.32 crore on gross sales of Rs. 591.50 crore in the same period last year.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, said the company controlled the cost better, improved the blending and reaped higher realisation. The average realisation for the second quarter was Rs. 3,900 a tonne, up from Rs. 3,600 in the first quarter. The average realisation for the first half was Rs. 3,751 per tonne, he added.

Mr. Srinivasan said the prices could go up from December. The firmness could persist during the entire last quarter, he added. Answering a range of questions, he said ICL had repaid debt to the tune of Rs. 250 crore during the first half.

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