Puneet Dalmia-promoted Dalmia Bharat Ltd saw a 39% sequential drop in the company’s profitability to ₹239 crore, though it was up 387% year-on-year, as India’s fourth-largest cement maker experienced lower prices in the July-September period. Profit in the June quarter was ₹395 crore, compared to ₹49 crore in the same period last year. Dalmia Bharat, which has an installed capacity of 49.5 million tonnes (mt), saw revenue from operations fall 6% to ₹3,417 crore in the previous quarter. June quarter revenue was at ₹3,636 crore. Income from operations increased by 10.7% compared to last year. UltraTech, India’s largest cement maker, will announce its results on Saturday. Delhi-headquartered Dalmia Bharat posted a 1.9% sequential decline in volume to 6.9 million tonnes (mt), compared to the April-June period, during which volume sales reached 7 million tonnes. The half-yearly sales volume also fell by 1.7% to 13.9 million tonnes. Cash flow from operating activities stood at ₹836 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) stood at ₹696 crore, down 21.2% over the previous quarter. In the June quarter, Ebitda was ₹883 crore. The Ebitda/tonne was ₹1,013. The Ebitda margins declined sequentially to 20.4%. Dalmia Bharat chief financial officer (CFO) Dharmender Tuteja said in a statement that the company saw “revenues improve by 11% year-on-year while Ebitda increased by 60%, backed by healthy cement realizations.” Net debt to Ebitda was at 0.56x, with gross debt standing at around ₹6,621 crore. The company declared an interim dividend of ₹4 per share. Dalmia Bharat said it started trial runs at the 3.6 million tonne clinker line in Umrangso, Assam in September. Commercial production is expected by December 2025. Civil work in Belgaum, Karnataka, for the expansion of the unit, is also underway. Dalmia Bharat has also commissioned 93MW of renewable energy (RE) capacity, taking its operational RE capacity to 387MW. The share of renewable power consumption stood at 48.1%, the company said in a press release. GST relief, capacity plans According to Puneet Dalmia, Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (HU), Dalmia Bharat, the announced reduction in Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on cement, from 28% to 18%, is a “much-awaited fiscal relief”. “We remain focused on building scale and delivering profitable growth,” he said. In a presentation to investors, Dalmia Bharat reiterated its plans to increase capacity to 75 million tonnes by fiscal year 2028 (FY28). Its current capacity is 49.5 mt. Initial expansion will be through 3 mt additions each at Belgaum and Pune. Another 6 mt is expected to come up in Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh.
Sequential price weakness halves Dalmia Bharat’s second-quarter profit despite strong annual growth
