Heidelberg Cement India Q1 net loss at Rs 8 crore

NEW DELHI: Higher input costs, power & fuel costs and freight charges pushed Heidelberg Cement India into the red, with the company reporting Rs 7.95 crore loss in the first quarter ended June 30, 2013.

The company, which recently entered into a pact with JSW Group to sell its Raigad grinding unit in Maharashtra, had clocked Rs 19.27 crore net profit in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, it said in a BSE filing.

Income from operation of the company during the quarter, however, went up to Rs 366.87 crore from Rs 307.44 crore a year ago.

Total expenses of the company, meanwhile, increased to Rs 352.97 crore from Rs 275.75 crore a year ago, mainly due to costlier raw materials, power and fuel costs and freight charges.

Expenses on raw material went up to Rs 102.54 crore from Rs 85.43 crore a year ago. Power and fuel costs increased to Rs 103.63 crore from Rs 77.64 crore and freight charges went up to Rs 56.76 crore from Rs 40.45 crore a year earlier.

Shares of the company were trading at Rs 38.15 apiece, down 1.93 per cent during the afternoon trade in the BSE.