India Cements Ltd’s standalone net profit for the third quarter ended December fell 95% to ₹3 crore from a year ago, on account of lower sales volumes, rise in fuel cost, heavy rains and the impact of the pandemic.
Revenue from operations fell to ₹1,108 crore from ₹1,160 crore. The total expenditure increased by ₹35 crore to ₹1,109 crore. Volume declined 11% to 21.08 lakh tonnes. N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and MD said, “It is a very difficult time due to floods in Omicron and southern states during monsoon, as a result of which construction activities have come to a standstill.”
“On top of this, for the first time we had a coal crisis in the world. American coal was not available, Australian coal was highly priced and Indonesian coal availability was uncertain. The quality of South African and Australian coal is lower than that of American coal,” he said.
“If you were smart and had bought coal at lower prices earlier, you could have survived. Otherwise, you will have to raise the prices,” he said.