Coal news and updates

ACC standalone Q1 PAT down 9%

April 24:  ACC Limited, on April 24, reported an 8.90% decrease in its net profit during the January-March quarter (first quarter) of 2014 to Rs 398.73 crore compared to Rs 437.70 crore in the first quarter of 2013, mainly on account of higher fright charges and input cost, the company said in filing to the BSE.

"During the quarter, our manufacturing costs increased due to increased prices of coal, fly ash and gypsum," the company said in a statement.

During the first quarter of 2014, the company's sales volumes stood at 6.48 million tons (mt) compared to 6.42 mt in the same period last year.

"In the first quarter of 2014, the industry did not experience any significant improvement in the pace of infrastructure development and general construction. With no uptrend in the demand for cement, our sales volume was at about the same level in the corresponding period last year," the company statement added.

Net sales of the company during the quarter increased slightly to Rs 2,967.14 crore from Rs 2,905.97 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit declined 8.67% to Rs 400 crore in 2014 compared to Rs 438 crore in 2013.

The following table gives quarter-on-quarter standalone performance of ACC Limited in 2014 and 2013 (in Rs crore):