UltraTech profit rises 17% as India Cements integration bears fruit
UltraTech Cement’s 17% rise in first-quarter profit underscores the success of its acquisition strategy, with the rapid turnaround of India Cements boosting margins amid robust domestic demand.
UltraTech Cement posted a 17% jump in first-quarter net profit to ₹2,604 crore, driven by volume growth and the rapid integration of recently acquired assets. Revenue climbed 15.8% year-on-year to ₹24,648 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, demonstrating the firm's ability to expand its top line despite a large-scale absorption of new operations.
The most notable signal for investors was the early turnaround of India Cements, a major acquisition designed to consolidate UltraTech's market dominance. The unit swung to a normalised profit of ₹52 crore from a net loss of ₹183 crore a year earlier, supported by an 18.5% surge in volumes. UltraTech credited this rapid reversal to tighter cost controls and disciplined integration, easing market concerns about the execution risks tied to the deal.
Across the broader business, operational metrics pointed to sustained domestic demand from housing, infrastructure and commercial construction. Capacity utilisation remained robust at 81% against an installed domestic capacity of 200.1 million tonnes per annum. The company continued to extract operational efficiencies, pushing operating EBITDA per tonne up to ₹1,214 from ₹1,198 in the prior year period.
Profit before interest, depreciation and tax rose to ₹5,146 crore from ₹4,591 crore. Management attributed the margin expansion to a combination of profitable growth at scale and strict cost discipline across its integrated operations.
Shares of the Aditya Birla Group flagship reflected the positive sentiment, hitting an intraday high of ₹12,000 on the BSE after opening at ₹11,730.05. Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, noted the stock is breaking out of a consolidation range on the daily chart. "The stock is trading comfortably above its key moving averages, reflecting a strong underlying trend," Shah said.
Shah added that momentum indicators are strengthening, with the Relative Strength Index moving above 60 and the MACD sloping higher. He pegged the ₹11,650 to ₹11,600 zone as a strong support area, suggesting the upward trajectory will persist as long as the stock holds above that level.
