Carborundum,Universal Autofoundry

A part of the Murugappa group, did not have a very good Q2FY13. Margins came under pressure owing to rising input costs, strong dollar and a challenging customer market. The Ceramics business segment recorded growth rate of 14% (YoY). The Abrasives business grew at 3% and Electro minerals business de-grew by 3%. Consolidated profitability of all businesses came under pressure. EBITDA fell 34% and net profit was down 49% at Rs.34 crore and QoQ, it fell 6%.

In terms of segmental breakup, EBIT of abrasives , YoY dropped 25%  and fall in electro minerals was sharper at 65% due to   adverse product mix. Its Russian subsidiary and India division also showed a drop in sales and profit on account of market conditions. And ceramics units EBIT dropped 8% as its Australian as well as Indian operations showed a fall in overall performance. The company was planning to establish a greenfield project as part of its Rs 200-crore capex in FY13, to expand its fired and castable refractories. It has now deferred this project and stated this was because of its recent acquisition of RHI Isithebe Pty and feels for now, this inorganic acquisition will fuel its growth for the coming months.