Dalmia Bharat Q1 Results: Revenue Little Changed, Meets Estimates

Dalmia Bharat Ltd. reported an 0.7% uptick in its net profit on a yearly basis for the first quarter of this financial year, in line with street expectations.

The homegrown cement company reported a bottom line of Rs 145 crore in the quarter ended June, compared with Rs 144 crore in the previous quarter, according to its stock exchange notification. This compares with the Rs 141.9-crore analysts' estimate tracked by Bloomberg.

The company's revenue were little changed year-on-year at Rs 3,621 crore. Analysts tracked by Bloomberg had pegged the top line at Rs 3,572.4 crore.

Operating income, or earnings before interest and tax depreciation and amortization, rose 9% on a yearly basis to Rs 669 crore, while the Ebitda margin expanded to 18.5% from 16.9% in the previous quarter. The analyst consensus estimates for Ebitda and Ebitda margin tracked by Bloomberg stood at Rs 557.4 crore and 15.5%, respectively.

"The cement pricing continued to be weak during the quarter, but we saw a notable improvement in margins due to better input prices and reversal of certain cost inefficiencies of the previous quarter," said Dharmender Tuteja, Chief Financial Officer, Dalmia Bharat in a statement.

"We are progressing well on the long-term levers of margin improvement including investment in brand, renewable energy and operationalising captive coal mines," he added.

The scrip closed 0.11% higher at Rs 1,918 apiece, compared with a 0.76% advance in the NSE Nifty 50. It has fallen 15.75% on a year-to-date basis and has declined 1.89% in the last 12 months, according to NSE data.