CK Birla Group flagship Orient Cement posts 31% quarter-on-quarter growth in net profit

New Delhi, August 07, 2014 – Orient Cement Limited, a part of USD 1.6 billion diversified CK Birla Group, announced its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. The company has recorded net revenues of Rs. 436 crores and net profit of Rs. 34 crores, reflecting a 31% increase in quarter-on-quarter net profit.

 

Key indicators (in crores)
Q2 FY14 Q1 FY15  

Q2FY15

 

Year-on-year change Quarter-on-quarter change
Revenue 366 436 439 20% 1%
Net profit 14 34 43 207% 27%

 

Orient Cement has bucked the trend by posting a 31% growth in net profit on a quarter-on-quarter basis to reach Rs. 34 crores, despite a marginal 4% drop in revenues. This was accomplished through disciplined cost management, strong capacity utilization and a product mix favouring blended cement.

 

Deepak Khetrapal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Orient Cement said, “In the first quarter we have achieved capacity utilization of 87%. In spite of sluggish prices during most of this quarter coupled with increase in input costs, Orient Cement has bolstered net earnings. We will continue to focus on both topline and bottom line growth in line with expectations.”

 

Overall realisation also increased by 1% despite industry reports of prices being subdued most of the quarter in South India. Orient Cement has achieved capacity utilisation much higher than the industry average for the quarter and especially robust compared to players in South India.

 

About the CK Birla Group

The CK Birla Group is a US$1.6 billion diversified conglomerate that over the years has developed a strong footprint in manufacturing, engineering, technology, hospitals and education. With over 20,000 employees, 27 manufacturing facilities and a customer base that includes some of the world’s best-known companies, CK Birla Group’s businesses are present across five continents.

 

The Group’s companies operate in the sectors of Technology and Automotive, Home and Building, and Healthcare and Education.  Companies in the Technology and Automotive cluster comprise AVTEC, Birlasoft, GMMCO, NEI and Neosym. These companies are leaders in manufacturing products for the automotive and related industries globally. The Group’s manufacturing capability is further strengthened through its Home and Building solutions companies: HIL, Orient Cement, Orient Electric and Orient Paper. These companies manufacture everyday usage products like paper, fans, kitchen and home appliances, building materials like cement, low weight blocks and panels, pipes and fibre roofing sheets.

 

CK Birla Group also has two hospitals in Kolkata: CMRI, a multi-specialty hospital with and BM Birla Heart Research Centre, the first NABH-accredited research and treatment centre for heart disease. The CK Birla Group has a presence in the Education sector through the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, Modern High School for Girls, Kolkata and Rukmani Birla Modern High School, Jaipur.

 

The CK Birla Group is deeply committed to creating sustainable positive impact. The Group allocates significant resources to philanthropic initiatives; including those in science and technology, art and culture, and heritage preservation. The Group also works to improve the livelihoods of rural and underprivileged communities.

For more information visit us at www.ckbirlagroup.com

About Orient Cement

Orient Cement Limited is part of USD 1.6 billion diversified CK Birla Group. Earlier a division of the multi-product, multi-unit Orient Paper and Industries Limited, Orient Cement has recently de-merged and become a public limited company. The company produces 5MTPA cement annually from its two plants in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Its first Greenfield project at Devapur in Adilabad District, Andhra Pradesh began cement production in the year 1982. In the year 1997, a split-grinding unit (also a Greenfield project) at Nashirabad, in Jalgaon, Maharashtra was added.

 

Orient Cement is certified for both ISO 9001:2008, and ISO 14001:2004 and also OHSAS 18001:2007 from Det Norske Veritas, Netherlands. The company sells cement under its popular brand Birla A1 Premium Cement in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu, Chattisgarh, Gujarat and MP.

Media contact:

Sakshi Batra; +91 999 979 6542; Sakshi.Batra@bm.com

Shankar Radhakrishnan; +919999384812; Shankar.Radhakrishnan@bm.com