High input costs pull down ACC profit 23% to Rs 1,099 cr

MUMBAI: Hit by high input prices and a slowing economy, the country���s largest cement maker ACC has suffered a 23% drop in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,099 crore for the year-ended December 2008 from Rs 1,427 crore in the same period previous year.

However, the consolidated results for the period are not strictly comparable with previous year���s due to certain restructuring within the group.

In line with an earlier communication to the stock exchange, the company has not published the unaudited results for the quarter ending December 31, 2008, separately. Instead, it had said that the audited results for the full year ended December 2008 would be announced.

The company, with a capacity of 22.4 million tonne, saw its consolidated total income rise 11% to Rs 8,000 crore (from Rs 7,221 crore) for the period under review.

For the year ended December 2008, the company reported a 16% decline in standalone net profit to Rs 1,212 crore from Rs 1,438 crore in the same quarter last year. Net sales for the year rose 4.6% to Rs 7,308 crore, while total income for the quarter rose 6% to Rs 7,597 crore from the previous year.

Shares of ACC ended at Rs 531.50 on BSE, up 0.64% over the previous close.

During FY08, ACC sold 21 million tonne of cement as against 20 million tonne in the previous year.

���ACC is focusing on completing ongoing projects, we have, for the time being, deferred new commitments on other expansion projects in the pipeline,��� it said in a statement.

Despite stable prices, the company expects cement consumption to grow 8% in 2009 as against an average 9.3% growth during the past five years.