Ambuja Cements Q3 Net falls 36%; CFO Sanjeev Churiwala resigns

New Delhi: Ambuja Cements Wednesday reported 36 percent decline in its standalone net profit at Rs 153.57 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015, due to an additional depreciation charge, among other factors.

The cement maker, in which Swiss building material major Holcim has a majority stake, had posted a net profit of Rs 239.06 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing.

Total standalone income of the firm fell by 4 percent to Rs 2,110.87 crore in July-September quarter of this fiscal from Rs 2,202.06 crore in the same quarter of 2014 fiscal.

Total expenses of Ambuja Cements, which follows January-December fiscal year, were marginally higher at Rs 1,956 crore from Rs 1,938.80 crore in the reported quarter.

The firm also informed that its CFO Sanjeev Churiwala has resigned and the Board has accepted his resignation with effect from November 16, 2015.

Board is looking for a suitable successor in his place. Joint President Corporate Controlling Sanjay Khajanchi will serve as Interim CFO, till such time a new CFO is appointed, it added.

Ambuja said the decline in net profit was "on account of lower operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and due to an additional depreciation charge of Rs 28 crore on implementation of Schedule II of the Companies Act, 2013."

Its cement sales grew by 3.2 percent to 4.82 million tonnes (MT) in July-September 2015 from 4.67 MT in the year-ago period.

On decline in net sales, Ambuja said even as sales volume grew 3.2 percent, lower realisation by 6.9 percent led to income declining by 4.3 percent in the third quarter. It reported net sales of Rs 2,095 crore in the September quarter of 2015 against Rs 2,188 crore in the year-ago period.

"The cement market was subdued during the quarter," it added.

Ambuja Cements said the scheme of amalgamation of Holcim India Pvt Ltd with it has been approved by the High Courts of Delhi and Gujarat. The scheme was recommended by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and the same is pending with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

The scheme will allow Ambuja to control 50.1 percent stake in cement maker ACC Ltd, it added.

On outlook it said: "Post monsoon construction activities are likely to pick up."

The long term outlook for cement demand remains positive considering government's focus on housing, concrete roads, smart cities and infrastructure development, it added.

"Ambuja Cement will continue to focus on improving operational efficiencies," it said.

Shares of the firm today rose by 1.56 percent to settle at Rs 208.75 apiece on the BSE.