Grasim Industries Ltd on Friday released its fiscal first quarter earnings with profit at Rs 2,267.74 crore, reporting a decline of 12.0 per cent in comparison to Rs 2,576.35 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY24. It posted revenue from operations at Rs 33,860.75 crore, up 9.0 per cent as against Rs 31,065.19 crore during the same period of previous fiscal year. The revenue growth was driven by strong performance from its diversified businesses portfolio. Cellulosic Staple Fibre, Building Materials and Financial Services businesses delivered superior performance, it said.
The company said that the EBITDA was lower by 4 per cent driven by investments in the paints business. Further, it said that higher depreciation and interest charges on account of new growth businesses has led to lower PAT.
Grasim’s Q1 performance across businesses
Cellulosic Fibres: During the quarter, China operating rates remained stable at around 82 per cent, with inventory levels at 12 days. CSF business achieved its highest ever quarterly sales volume at 212 KT, up 14 per cent YoY. The CFY business recorded marginal volume growth of 2 per cent YoY, due to subdued demand conditions in the downstream value chain and lower priced export into India by Chinese producers. Revenue for the quarter was at Rs 3,787 crore, up 6 per ent YoY. Segment EBITDA grew by 4 per cent YoY to Rs 405 crore helped mainly by operating leverage and lower input costs.
Chemicals: The International Caustic Soda (CFR-SEA) average spot prices stood at $469/ton in Q1FY25, improving by 13 per cent YoY. The continued upward trend in global prices led to a marginal QoQ improvement in domestic caustic soda prices due to overcapacity conditions in the domestic markets. The Chemicals business achieved revenue of Rs 2,066 crore, down 4 per cent YoY. EBITDA for the Chemicals segment stood at Rs 310 crore, down 13 per cent YoY. Profitability improved sequentially on the back of higher caustic soda realisations and improved margins of chlorine derivatives.
Building Materials: The Building Materials business reported revenue of Rs 18,701 crore, up 11 per cent YoY, led by the growth in cement and ramp-up in revenues from new growth businesses – Paints and B2B E-Commerce. Consolidated sales volumes of cement business (UltraTech) grew by 7 per cent YoY to 31.95 MT and ready-mix concrete sales volumes grew by 22 per cent YoY. During the quarter, grey cement capacity expanded by 8.7 Mn TPA, taking the total grey cement capacity to 154.9 Mn TPA.
The Board of Directors of UltraTech approved the purchase of a 32.72 per cent equity stake of the promoters & their associates in India Cements Limited (ICL). UltraTech had made a financial investment in ICL to acquire 22.77 per cent equity in June 2024. Post signing of share purchase agreement and obtaining regulatory approvals for the purchase of equity stake in ICL, UltraTech will pay Rs 3,954 crore at Rs 390/share for buying 32.72 per cent stake in ICL from the promoters & their associates.
The paints business under the brand name ‘Birla Opus’ is ramping up production across product categories at already commissioned three plants. Trial production has also commenced at the Chamarajanagar plant. The first flagship experience store is operational in Mumbai. The total capex for the business is Rs 7,795 crore till June 2024, around 77 per cent of the planned capex outlay.
Birla Pivot, the B2B e-commerce business, has achieved a quarterly run-rate revenue of above Rs 550 crore. Birla Pivot continues to expand its geographical reach with delivery to 200+ cities across 25 states and union territories.
Financial Services: Financial Services business’ (Aditya Birla Capital), revenue and EBITDA stood at Rs 8,807 crore and Rs 1,058 crore, registering growth of 25 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. The overall lending portfolio (NBFC and HFC) increased by 27 per cent to Rs 1,27,705 crore. The total AUM (AMC, life insurance and health insurance) grew by 20 per cent YoY to Rs 4,62,891 crore. The D2C platform, Aditya Birla Capital Digital (ABCD), commercially launched in Q1FY25, witnessed strong response with about 8 lakh registrations. Udyog Plus, the B2B platform for the MSME, continues to scale with more than 10 lakh registrations and a total portfolio of Rs 2,600 crore.
Other Businesses (Textiles, Renewables and Insulators): Revenue from other businesses increased by 6 per cent YoY to Rs 798 crore. In renewable business, cumulative installed capacity increased to 946 MW, up 6 per cent from 894 MW in Mar’24.
From: financialexpress
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