"Our growth was driven by a strategic combination of organic and inorganic expansion"

Interview: Dharmendra Tuteja

Dharmendra Tuteja CFO, Dalmia Bharat Limited

Can you shed some light on your FY23 results?

During FY23 we delivered volume and revenue growth of 16 per cent YoY at a volume of 25.7 million tonnes and 20 per cent YoY at ₹13,540 crore, respectively. This growth of 16 per cent is estimated to be more than 1.5 times the all-India demand growth. During the year, the NSR growth has been almost 4 per cent, which was led by stability and strengthening of prices in the eastern and north-eastern states. While the increase in NSR at 4 per cent has been higher than the long-term average price increase of 2 per cent annually, it has not been sufficient to offset the adverse impact of input price inflation.

During the year, the average fuel consumption prices spiked from the equivalent pet coke price of USD 141 in FY22 to USD 198 per tonne in FY23. However, our proactive approach has enabled us to successfully mitigate the adverse impact of inflation by improving our manufacturing and sales KPIs. The group recorded an increase in profit after tax from continuing operations by ₹246 crore to ₹1,083 crore as compared to the previous year’s ₹837 crore. The basic and diluted earnings from continuing operations for FY23 were at ₹55.44 per share and ₹55.41 per share, respectively.

With a constant push by the government on infrastructure and a robust real estate cycle already kicking in, what is your outlook on the Indian cement industry for the next few quarters?