Coal news and updates

Birla Corp Q4 net profit up 8.62% to Rs 28.46 cr

May 8: Birla Corporation Limited, flagship of the MP Birla Group, reported a 35.20% increase in net profit for 2014-15 (FY15) to Rs 175.44 crore against Rs 129.76 crore reported in the previous fiscal, the company said in a filing to the BSE on May 7.

During the January-March quarter (final quarter) of 2014-15, the company’s net profit increased 8.62% to Rs 28.46 crore against Rs 26.20 crore earned in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

“Barring the first quarter of 2014-15, the demand for cement as well as prices remained sluggish. East, north and central markets, in particular, were the worst hit. Weak monsoon and widespread unseasonal rain during the last quarter (October-December) in the north and central parts of India, pushed demand down, especially in the non-urban belt,” a company statement said.

In FY15, the company’s total cement production stood at 7.62 million tons (mt), up 3.77% against a volume of 7.35 mt produced in the previous fiscal while cement production during the final quarter of FY15 stood at 1.87 mt, down 2.66% against a volume of 1.92 mt recorded in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Cement despatches of the company during FY15 increased 4.42% to 7.67 mt against a volume of 7.35 mt recorded in the previous fiscal while cement despatches during the final quarter of FY15 fell by 1.31% to 1.88 mt against a volume of 1.91 mt.

Though road freight cost came down during the fiscal under review due to lower diesel prices, higher railway freight prices balanced the same, the company statement said.

Cost of other raw materials such as gypsum, fly ash, coal and limestone had gone up during the fiscal resulting in increasing input costs, the company statement added.

“Substantial quantity of limestone had to be outsourced at higher prices at Chanderia as the limestone mined through mechanical process was insufficient. Due to non-availability of linkage coal in time, the company had to procure the fuel from open market, including imports, at a substantially higher cost,” the company statement said. 

According to the financial statement, total income from operations during the final quarter stood at Rs 797.15 crore, against Rs 793.48 crore in the same period of last year.

Total income from operation during the year stood at Rs 3,209.89 crore compared to Rs 3,016.35 crore in the previous fiscal.

The following table gives quarter-on-quarter and yearly stand-alone performance of Birla Corporation Limited in FY15 and FY14 (in Rs crore):