Ambuja Cements clocks sustainable performance in Q1, to expand footprint in new geographies

Ahmedabad: Cement and building materials major Ambuja Cements on Wednesday reported sustainable quarterly results for the April-June quarter, with operating EBITDA at Rs 1,280 crore and PAT at Rs 790 crore.

The operating cost was improved by 3 per cent (year-on-year) at Rs 4,437 PMT, said the flagship of the diversified Adani Group.

“We have delivered another sustainable performance and our focus on innovation, digitisation, customer satisfaction and ESG (environmental, social and governance) is at the heart of our success. Our persistent performance sets the tone for the rest of the financial year, as we expand our footprint and capacities across new geographies,” said Ajay Kapur, Whole Time Director and CEO, Ambuja Cements.

“Our continued improvement on cost brings visibility of achieving the targeted cost reduction of Rs 530 PMT by FY28. With the Penna transaction expected to be closed by Q2 FY25, our capacity will go to 89 MTPA and well on track to achieve our 140 MTPA plan by FY28,” Kapur informed.

Last month, Ambuja Cements announced the acquisition of Hyderabad-based Penna Cement Industries Ltd (PCIL) for an enterprise value of Rs 10,422 crore.

In the first quarter of FY25, the operating EBITDA was at Rs 807 PMT, with EBITDA margin of 15.4 per cent. The company also added 275 million MT limestone reserves in Q1 FY25.

The company said that the integration of recently acquired Tuticorin GU and Penna Cement (under closing) will help to further improve market share, overall profitability and RoCE (return on capital employed).

Cement demand during FY24 stood higher by 7-8 per cent YoY at 422 MTPA and is likely to grow by 7-9 per cent in FY25 to around 451 MTPA driven by strong correlation with GDP growth and rising demand from housing and infrastructure sectors.

The government aims to invest $3 trillion in infrastructure and housing development through the ongoing ‘Housing for All’ scheme, National Infrastructure Plan, PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan and others.

An outlay of Rs 11.11 lakh crore for Capital Expenditure has been allotted in Budget FY’25 which represents 3.4 per cent of the GDP.

“All these measures are expected to bring buoyancy to cement demand,” said the company.

–IANS