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Economic Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
UltraTech Q1 net profit jumps 49% on higher sales, meets D-Street estimates
UltraTech Cement may take a call on whether or not to merge India Cements with it by 2027 or 2028, chief financial officer Atul Daga said. ADVERTISEMENT 'First and foremost, it's very important for us to clean up the India Cements' operations, bring it up to speed, which is a turnaround of the company, align people, processes, product, and then we will take a call on whether to merge or not to merge,' Daga said on Monday. India Cements became a subsidiary of UltraTech in late December last year. 'We are fully cognisant of a huge amount of stamp duty that would be involved. Why spend money on that? But if it's worthwhile, perhaps in (20)27 or 28, actually, we will revisit the decision,' Daga told analysts on a call after the company's quarterly Cements achieved a breakeven in terms of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) by March. In April, UltraTech's management said the subsidiary's Ebitda per tonne would hit Rs 500 in the current fiscal 2026, Rs 800 in fiscal 2027 and Rs 1,000 in the following fiscal year. It made Rs 400 per tonne of Ebitda in the quarter ended June 30, after taking into account the limestone royalty of Rs 160 per tonne in Tamil a consolidated level, India Cements made a loss of Rs 132.90 crore for the June quarter compared with a profit of Rs 58.47 crore a year earlier, weighed by an exceptional loss of Rs 123.77 crore due largely to impairment charges. Refinancing of debt helped cut down finance costs to Rs 26.58 crore from Rs 82.36 crore a year earlier. ADVERTISEMENT Given that cement prices have been favourable, India Cements could achieve Ebitda per tonne of Rs 1,000 before fiscal 2028, Daga said. 'Prices holding up obviously could help us achieve our targets earlier. Besides prices, most important is the integration effort. It is people, processes, products, quality, logistics. Everything is getting integrated, which helps us realise our goals,' he there are opportunities for brownfield expansion at India Cements, it will be announced at a later stage, he said. ADVERTISEMENT UltraTech posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,226 crore in the first quarter, up 49% on year and in line with market estimates. Its numbers for the quarter include those of Kesoram Industries and India Cements, both of which were not a part of the company a year earlier. While India Cements is independently listed and announced its quarterly earnings last week, the numbers for Kesoram were not separately available. ADVERTISEMENT Consolidated sales increased 13% on year to Rs 21,040 crore, while sales volume rose 9.7% to 36.83 million before interest, depreciation and tax was Rs 4,591 crore, up 44% from a year earlier. Ebitda per tonne rose to Rs 1,198 from 899. At a standalone level, UltraTech made a profit of Rs 2,232 crore on sales of Rs 19,398 crore. Ebitda stood at Rs 4,356 crore. ADVERTISEMENT (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Business Recorder
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Higher cement prices help India's UltraTech beat earnings estimates
UltraTech Cement, India's largest cement maker by capacity, posted first-quarter earnings above market expectations on Monday, boosted by higher prices of the construction material. Consolidated net profit, including gains from its India Cements deal in 2024, was 22.26 billion rupees ($258.11 million) - above the 21.56 billion rupees estimated by analysts, on average, according to data compiled by LSEG. Standalone net profit for the three months ended June 30 was up 48% on-year. Cement prices rose about 2% on-year on average in the quarter, according to brokerage Ambit Capital, extending the steady recovery so far this year after last year's slump. Finance chief Atul Daga said in a post-earnings call that cement prices have continued to improve in July, especially in the South Indian markets, which emerged out of a long pricing lull in April. 'Prices have (been) favorably poised in spite of heavy monsoons,' Daga said. The company reported a revenue of 212.75 billion rupees, surpassing analysts' estimates of 200.12 billion rupees. However, its consolidated sales volume growth of 9.7% was near the lower side of the 9.6%-17.5% growth range projected by four brokerages. Heavy rains dampened demand in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha, while geopolitical tensions stalled construction activity in India's northern border states, the company said. India and Pakistan saw their worst clashes in decades in the quarter, following a deadly attack in Indian Kashmir in April. The April-June period is also a seasonally soft quarter for cement companies, as monsoon showers slow construction. The company's dealmaking, such as the acquisition of India Cements and Kesoram's cement business, helped in capacity expansion and shielded its volumes from weather-led volatility, analysts have said. UltraTech shares closed 0.5% higher.
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Business Standard
21-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
UltraTech Cement's profit jumps 49% as volumes, prices grow in Q1FY26
Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech Cement reported a 48.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) growth in consolidated net profit (attributable to the owners of the parent) for the quarter ending June FY26, reaching ₹2,226 crore, driven by an overall sales volume growth of 9.7 per cent YoY to 36.83 million metric tonnes. The company's grey cement realisations also improved by 2.4 per cent YoY to ₹5,165 per metric tonne (mt), amid an all-India YoY cement price hike of 6 per cent during the quarter. The growth in the company's overall consolidated sales volume during the quarter was further boosted by its acquisitions of Kesoram Industries and India Cements. However, during the company's earnings call on Monday, Atul Daga, Chief Financial Officer of UltraTech Cement, remarked, 'We had gotten used to double-digit growth (in sales volume) just recently, year after year, quarter after quarter, and anything less seems to be slow.' Further, the profit marginally missed the Bloomberg analysts' poll estimate of ₹2,251.03 crore. The company's revenue from operations in Q1 FY26 grew by 13.1 per cent YoY to ₹21,275.45 crore, though it also missed analysts' estimates of ₹21,506 crore. 'We believe our results this quarter demonstrate our ability to adapt to the changing market scenario while delivering on our financial commitments,' Daga said. According to Elara Capital, average pan-India cement prices rose by 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q1 FY26 to ₹377 per bag. The YoY price increase reflects a rebound from Q1 FY25 when prices had declined by about 4 per cent due to the demand being affected by the general elections. In Q1 FY26, prices softened in June 2025 with the onset of the monsoon. The company's total expenses for the quarter stood at ₹18,405.19 crore, up 7.97 per cent YoY. Energy costs for grey cement were lower by 12 per cent YoY to ₹871 per mt, mainly due to reduced fuel prices. The company's logistics cost during the quarter declined by 4 per cent YoY, while power costs dropped by 8 per cent YoY. In Q1 FY26, the company's operating EBITDA per tonne was ₹1,248, up 38.82 per cent YoY. The share of premium products in the company's sales stood at 33.8 per cent, compared to 24 per cent in Q1 FY25. Sequentially, the company's revenue declined by 7.75 per cent and profit by 10.31 per cent. UltraTech increased its grey cement capacity by 3.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in Q1 FY26, bringing its total capacity to 192.26 mtpa. The company aims to grow its grey cement capacity to 197.5 mtpa by the end of FY26. The company spent approximately ₹2,000 crore in capital expenditure during Q1 FY26. The company's consolidated net debt stood at ₹16,340 crore as of June 2025. UltraTech is targeting a double-digit volume growth going forward, driven by new capacity additions, mega infrastructure projects, healthy rural demand, and urban housing activity. 'We will grow higher than the industry,' Daga added. The company's share, listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, closed at ₹12,574.35 on Monday (July 21).
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Rare heart surgery on 6-month-old gets medical journal entry honour
Kolkata: The case of a rare and complex heart surgery on a six-month-old girl in a Kolkata hospital was published by the World Journal of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery due to the rarity of the procedure on such a young child. Conducted a few months ago, doctors kept following the case up till they were satisfied with the recovery for presenting the case to the international journal. According to the parents, the baby struggled to breathe, did not feed properly, and was always tired. She was not gaining weight either. They brought her to BM Birla Heart Hospital in Kolkata, where doctors found the infant suffering from left main coronary artery stenosis, a rare congenital heart defect. In this condition, the main artery that supplies blood to the heart is dangerously narrow, which can lead to heart failure if not treated properly. Investigation reports revealed that her heart was working at only 20% capacity, and she needed urgent surgery. Manoj Kumar Daga, senior consultant (cardiothoracic and vascular surgery) at BM Birla Hospital, and his team decided to perform a rare heart bypass surgery known as Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG). by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Gentle Japanese hair growth method for men and women's scalp Hair's Rich Learn More Undo Unlike most bypass surgeries, this was done without putting the baby on a heart-lung machine, which made it even more challenging. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata "Performing such surgery on a baby without stopping the heart is rare anywhere in the world. The congenital heart condition of the child itself is rare," said Daga. Despite the challenges, the procedure went smoothly. During multiple follow-ups, doctors found significant improvement in the baby's heart function. During the latest check-up, her heart was pumping with 55% efficiency, which is close to normal. It is expected to improve further. "We are happy that the child is doing well. She will grow up like any other child. We will still be following up on her periodically," said Daga. "To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of off-pump CABG performed in an infant with congenital LM coronary artery stenosis. The success of this technique highlights off-pump CABG as a feasible, less invasive option for revascularisation in select cases of paediatric coronary artery disease," concluded the case report in the journal co-authored by doctors Daga, Nitish Kumar, Subhendu Mandal, Gaur Hari Das, Pravir Kumar Das, Anurag Agarwal, and Madhurima Ghosh. A CTVS professor at a state-run medical college in Kolkata said that the CABG procedure in a child as young as six months old was rare and challenging.
Economic Times
12-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Nasher Miles to open 20–25 offline stores, eyes quick commerce growth
ETtech Lokesh Daga, CEO, Nasher Miles Direct-to-consumer (D2C) luggage brand Nasher Miles plans to open 20 to 25 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs) across India by the end of this financial year as it looks to expand its offline presence beyond online company currently has five to six launches in the pipeline, including three in Mumbai, two in Hyderabad, and one in Ahmedabad, and is scouting additional locations in tier-I cities. The goal is to scale up to 100 outlets over the next two years, chief executive officer Lokesh Daga told ET in an interaction. 'We are looking for opportunities as they come. The idea is to see whether we can scale to 100 stores over the next two years,' Daga said on the sidelines of the company's offline retail store launch in Mumbai. Quick commerce bets Even as it pushes offline expansion, Nasher Miles continues to scale rapidly through quick commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart. Despite trolley bags being priced at Rs 2,000–3,000, the company said quick commerce currently contributes about 8% to total sales. It expects this share to rise to 15% by the end of FY25, depending on the expansion of dark stores and fulfilment capacity. 'Quick commerce is a very metro-focused phenomenon, and that is one channel growing at a very fast pace for us. Every month, we've been growing — last month we grew by 10%, and this month we will grow by another 10%. We expect the quick commerce run rate to reach 15% by the end of this financial year,' Daga reduce reliance on China and improve cost efficiencies, Nasher Miles has shifted a significant portion of its manufacturing to India over the past 18 months. While it previously sourced 90% of its products from China, today nearly 75% are made in India. The company claims this shift has helped cut costs by 20–25% and improve gross Miles initially created a sub-brand, Stony Brook by Nasher Miles, to test domestic manufacturing. With supply chains now stabilised, that brand is being phased out, Daga company, which had turned profitable earlier, went into the red in FY24 due to brand-building investments and the cost of testing Indian manufacturing but claims to have returned to profitability in FY25. According to Tracxn, Nasher Miles recorded a net loss of Rs 6.3 crore in FY24. In July 2024, Nasher Miles raised $4 million in a funding round led by the Singularity Early Opportunities Fund, Narendra Rathi of SoftBank Vision Fund, and Sulabh Arya of Goldman Sachs Growth Equity, among others, at a post-money valuation of $30 million, primarily to fund its omnichannel expansion. The company plans to raise additional funds after the festive season. 'We will actively go into the market probably post-season. The festive season is coming, and 50-60% of sales happen during these three to four months. So, we want to focus on execution first,' Daga said. Category diversification Currently, 92–95% of the company's revenue comes from trolley bags. However, it is now doubling down on other categories like backpacks and travel accessories, aiming to push their share to double digits by the end of this fiscal. The D2C luggage segment has seen growing investor interest. Last year, Mokobara raised $12 million in a round led by Peak XV Partners, valuing the company at $80 million post-money. In August 2024, venture capital firm Accel invested $9 million in Uppercase, nearly doubling its valuation to $60 million. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. India's gas dream runs on old pipes. Can a European fix unclog the future? Did Jane Street manipulate Indian market or exploit its shallowness? Newton vs. industry: Inside new norms that want your car to be more fuel-efficient Is gold always the best bet? Think again Do bank stress tests continue to serve their intended purpose? These large- and mid-cap stocks can give more than 24% return in 1 year, according to analysts Suited for the long term, even with headwinds: 8 stocks from healthcare & pharma sectors with upside potential of up to 39% Stock picks of the week: 5 stocks with consistent score improvement and return potential of more than 22% in 1 year
