Revenue rose by 19% increased by YoY to Rs 1,793 crore during the quarter. During Q2 of CV, the sale of cement is 3.31 million tons, compared to 2.71 million tons in the Q2 of PY with a growth of 22%.

During the Q2 of CV, the blended fuel consumption per ton was equivalent to $199 as against $97 during the corresponding previous period. Since the overall fuel prices have peaked during the CV, the power & fuel cost per ton of cement for Q2 of CV has sharply increased to Rs 2,013 from Rs 1,057 in the Q2 of PY.

EBITDA for the July-September 2022 quarter was Rs 193 crore, down 52% YoY. This was mainly due to sharp increase in fuel price and weak cement prices. The company could not pass on the full cost increase arising out of sharp fuel price hike, to its customers.

Blended EBIDTA per ton for the Q2 of CV was Rs 582 as against Rs 1,484 during Q2 of PY, which is one of the lowest in the last 8 years.

While finance costs increased by 90% YoY to Rs 55 crore, depreciation charges rose by 23% YoY to Rs 122 crore in the second quarter.

The sharp rise in finance costs was due to commissioning of clinkering units in Jayanthipuram Line III and Kolimigundla. The effective average cost of borrowing for Q2 of CV is 6.16% as against 5.11% in the Q2 of PY.

Profit before tax in Q2 FY23 stood at Rs 16 crore, down by 94% from Rs 274 crore in Q2 FY22.

Tax expenses for Q2 of CV was Rs 5 crore as against reversal of tax expenses of Rs 243 crore during Q2 of PY, wherein the company had opted for shifting to lower tax rate from FY 2021-22 onwards.

The cement production in Kolimigundla has commenced from Sep-22 onwards. The company's cement capacity has gone to 21 MTPA with clinker capacity of 14 MTPA. The 6 MW of WHRS in Kolimigundla will be commissioned in Nov-22. Balance 6 MW of WHRS will be commissioned in Mar-23. TPP of 18 MW and railway siding will be commissioned in 2023-24. The modernisation of RR Nagar plant will be commissioned before Mar-23.

With regard to expansion of capacity of dry mix products, the company said that two units in Tamilnadu are ready for commissioning and market trials for products are in progress. The remaining two units in AP & Orissa will be commissioned during 2023-24.

The company proposes to increase the grinding capacity of Haridaspur plant, Odisha by 0.9 MTPA at a cost of only Rs 130 crore since other infrastructures are already in place, thereby doubling its capacity to 1.8 MTPA.

During the Q2 of CV, the company has incurred Rs 504 crore towards capex, including for the above-mentioned ongoing capacity expansion programme.

The net debt for the company as on 30 September 2022 was Rs 4,741 crore, out of which Rs 724 crore is short-term loan.

The Ramco Cements (TRCL) is a reputed cement manufacturer in India and markets its products under the Ramco brand. The company also has two modest-scale subsidiaries, Ramco Windfarms (with a 39-MW windmill capacity) and Ramco Industrial and Technology Services (which is into transport services, manpower services and IT).