UltraTech Cement announces financial results for year ended 31st March 2011

1st May, 2011

26 April 2011

UltraTech Cement announces financial results for year ended 31st March 2011

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UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company today announced its financial results for the year ended 31st March, 2011. The results for the year and the quarter ended 31st March, 2010 have been recast to include Samruddhi Cement Limited’s performance for like-for-like comparison and are strictly not comparable with the corresponding period of the previous year.

Financials –; FY11
Net Sales stood at Rs.13,210 crores as compared to Rs.13,442 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year. Profit before interest and tax is Rs. 2,063 crores as against Rs.3,319 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The combined domestic cement and clinker sales of grey cement was 32.76 MMT (32.26 MMT) while it was 4.14 LMT (4.02 LMT) for white cement and 2.30 LMT (1.79 LMT) for wall care putty.

FY11 recorded industry demand growth of 5.3 per cent, the lowest in the last ten years. This was primarily on account of the de-growth / subdued growth in various key cement consuming states driven by lower infrastructure spending, slowdown in the realty sector, an extended monsoon and non-availability of railway wagons.

Financials –; Q4FY11
Net Sales stood at Rs.4,490 crores as compared to Rs. 4,206 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year. Profit before interest and tax is Rs. 904 crores as against Rs. 858 crores in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The combined domestic cement and clinker sales of grey cement was 10.37 MMT (10.29 MMT) while it was 1.47 LMT (1.43 LMT) for white cement and 0.80 LMT (0.65 LMT) for wall care putty.

During the quarter variable cost rose by 14 per cent mainly on account of the substantial increase in input and energy costs. Imported coal prices rose by 27 per cent YoY. Further, domestic coal prices shot up by 30 per centin March, 2011. Variable cost during FY11 has also increased by 13 per cent on account of escalation in the costs of inputs like flyash, slag and energy costs.

The industry witnessed capacity addition of around 28 MMT in FY11 over and above the capacity addition of more than 60 MMT in FY10 resulting in a surplus scenario which may last for the next three years.

Dividend
The Board of Directors at their meeting held today recommended a dividend of 60 per cent, at the rate of Rs. 6 per share of face value of Rs.10 each aggregating to Rs. 164.42 crores. The Company will absorb the Corporate Tax on dividend amounting to Rs. 26.67 crores, resulting in a total payout of Rs. 191.09 crores.

Directors
Prof. Nirmalya Kumar has been inducted as an independent director on the Board of the Company. Prof. Kumar currently serves on the Board of Governors of London Business School. His experience includes working with more than 50 Fortune 500 companies.

Capex
The Company has a capital outlay of around Rs. 11,000 crores to be spent over the next three years. These include setting up of additional clinkerisation plants at Chhattisgarh and Karnataka together with grinding units, bulk packaging terminals and ready mix concrete plants across the country. Orders have been placed for major equipment for setting up the projects. These expansions are expected to be operational from early FY14 and will enhance the Company’s cement capacity by 9.2 mtpa.

Outlook
The cement industry is likely to grow more than 8.5 per cent on the back of government initiatives in rural development, infrastructure and housing. The pricing environment may remain challenging and with the impact of surplus capacity, margins may continue to remain under pressure.

About UltraTech Cement Limited
UltraTech Cement Limited, an Aditya Birla Group Company, is a public company, listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

UltraTech has an annual capacity of 52 million tonnes. It manufactures and markets ordinary Portland cement, Portland blast furnace slag cement, Portland pozzalana cement, Ready Mix Concrete, White cement and wall care putty.

The Company has 11 integrated plants, one white cement plant, one clinkerisation plant in the UAE, 15 grinding units –; 11 in India, two in the UAE, one each in Bahrain and Bangladesh and five terminals — four in India and one in Sri Lanka.

UltraTech is the country’s largest exporter of cement clinker. The export markets span countries around the Indian Ocean, Africa and the Middle East. UltraTech’s subsidiaries are Dakshin Cement Limited, Harish Cement Limited, UltraTech Cement Lanka (Private) Limited and UltraTech Cement Middle East Investments Limited.

Statements in this "Press Release" describing the Company's objectives, projections, estimates, expectations or predictions may be "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied. Important factors that could make a difference to the Company's operations include demand supply conditions, finished goods prices, feed stock availability and prices, cyclical demand and pricing in the company's principal markets, changes in Government regulations, tax regimes, economic developments within India and the countries within which the Company conducts business and other factors such as litigation and labour negotiations. The Company assumes no responsibility to publicly amend, modify or revise any forward looking statement on the basis of any subsequent development, information or events, or otherwise.

For more information, contact:
Dr. Pragnya Ram
Group Executive President
Corporate Communications & CSR
Aditya Birla Management Corporation Private Limited
Tel: 91-22-6652 5000 / 2499 5000
Fax: 91-22-6652 5741/ 42
Email: pragnya.ram@adityabirla.com