ACC Q3 Sees 20% YoY Jump In Profit

Cement manufacturer ACC on October 19 posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 363.85 crore, up 20.26 percent year-on-year (YoY) for the September quarter. The company had reported a profit of Rs 302.56 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The company, which follows January-December financial year, posted Q3 revenue at Rs 3,537.3 crore against Rs 3,528.31 crore YoY. Revenue was also higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of Rs 3,450 crore. EBITDA grew 20.5 percent to Rs 671.4 crore against Rs 557.1 crore YoY while EBITDA margin came at 19 percent against 15.8 percent YoY. The company said efficiency and cost-reduction drove EBITDA margin expansion by 328 basis points and focus on premium products enabled net sales growth of 4 percent in cement over the previous year. "Despite COVID-19 headwinds, the Indian economy is witnessing early signs of recovery. At ACC, this recovery has been reflected in our Q3 results, where our volumes and sales have bounced back to prior-year levels," ACC Managing Director & CEO Sridhar Balakrishnan said. The government's thrust on infrastructure development, increased spending through measures aimed at reviving the rural economy and a sharper focus on the affordable housing segment was expected to drive up cement demand, ACC said.