UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement producer, has posted a 37.86% fall in consolidated net profit of Rs 1,062.58 crore during the third quarter ended December, impacted mainly by high energy costs. In comparison, the Aditya Birla group company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,710.14 crore for the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

During the reporting quarter, the company’s revenue from operations rose 19.53% to Rs 15,520.93 crore from Rs 2,984.93 crore recorded during the same year-ago period, UltraTech Cement said in a regulatory update.

The cement manufacturer’s energy and raw material costs were up 33% and 13% on a year-on-year basis, and were on a sequential basis. Its domestic grey cement sales volume grew 13% on a year-on-year basis and 12% on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The company achieved a capacity utilisation of 83% in Q3, compared with 75% during the comparable year-ago quarter.

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UltraTech Cement commissioned 18 MW of Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) and 7 MW of solar power during the quarter. With these expansions, the firm’s green energy share has gone up to 19.8%, which includes 208 MW of WHRS and 325 MW of solar power.

Under its first phase of capacity expansion announced in December 2020, UltraTech commissioned 5.5 MTPA new capacity in Q3. This included 1.9 MTPA greenfield cement plant in Pali, Rajasthan, 1.8 MTPA greenfield grinding unit in Dhule, Maharashtra and a 1.8 MPTA brownfield unit in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh.

Work on the second phase of 22.6 MTPA has also commenced. Upon completion of these expansion plans, the company’s capacity will grow to 159.25 MTPA, Upon completion of these expansions, the company’s capacity will grow to 159.25 MTPA, reinforcing its position as the third-largest cement company in the world, outside of China and the largest in India.

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UltraTech commissioned its third wall care putty plant in Nathdwara, Rajasthan, with a capacity of 4 lakh tonne per annum (TPA) in Q3. With this, the company now has a wall care putty capacity of 13 lakh tonne per annum TPA.

The company said the cement sector is poised for strong growth in the coming years due to the government’s focus on infrastructure growth and the consequent rising demand for urban homes.