Net sales stood at Rs 748.02 crore, an increase of 12.8 per cent compared to Rs 663.38 crore for the same period last year.

The total income for the said period has increased by 11.6 per cent to Rs 760.59 crore as against Rs 681.79 crore in the same period last year.

The total volume of cement sales (included traded cement) has shown an increase of 3 per cent during the third quarter 2001, as opposed to the same last year.

The total sale of cement stood at 27.14 lakh tonne as against 26.34 lakh tonne for the same quarter last year.

ACC's operating profit before interest and depreciation for the third quarter increased to Rs 95.42 crore as compared to Rs 53.05 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, resulting in an increase in operating margins to 12.5 per cent as compared to 7.8 per cent in the corresponding period. The company has attributed this to sustained efforts in reducing cost and improved sales realisation.

The unfavourable trend of incurring consecutive losses was reversed in the second quarter and the positive trend has continued in the third quarter.

The company has attributed this to the reduction in costs due to the various initiatives it has undertaken.

The overall cost of production per tonne of cement for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2000, was lower by 4.3 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of previous year.

The outlook for the industry, according to ACC, continues to be challenging despite the recent pick up in cement prices. The company also plans to aggressively pursue its cost cutting initiatives to further improve results in the future.