J K Lakshmi

JK Lakshmi Cement announced a very good set of numbers for Q1Fy15, purely on the back of a strong operational performance. Net profit for the quarter rose from Rs.16 crore to Rs.40 crore on the back of a strong growth in topline at Rs.669 crore, up 31%. Production during the quarter rose 14% while sales volumes were up 18%.

The company had an exceptional cost of Rs.16.50 crore and this was provision made for litigation matters of previous years, which got mitigated to some extent by the tax refund during the quarter of Rs.14.90 crore.

Its Rs.1500 crore Greenfield project at Durg in Chhattisgarh, a 2.7 mtpa plant is expected to go on stream in Q3 of current fiscal, post which its cement making capacity will rise from 6.6 mtpa to 9.3 mtpa. The capex for the current fiscal is Rs.600 crore, which also includes the Durg facility, to be funded via internal accruals.