Aditya Birla-led Grasim Industries on Friday reported a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 1,384 crore in the third quarter ended December (Q3 FY21), marking a growth of 103 per cent from Rs 680 crore in Q3 FY19.
Consolidated revenue for the quarter was up 13 per cent to Rs 20,986 crore from Rs 18,617 crore in the same period while consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped by 52 per cent to Rs 4,476 crore from Rs 2,945 crore.
The diversified company said that the government's far-sightedness in providing timely stimulus in the aftermath of Covid-19 provided support to multiple sectors leading to a broad-based economic recovery.
"The recovery in the demand has been accelerated by greater consumer confidence on the back of launch of vaccination programme across the world," it said.
The cement subsidiary -- UltraTech Cement Ltd -- had consolidated revenue at Rs 12,254 crore, EBITDA of Rs 3,362 crore and profit after tax of Rs 1,584 crore for Q3 FY21.
The UltraTech board has approved Rs 5,477 crore towards capacity expansion of 12.8 million tonnes per annum through a mix of greenfield and brownfield expansion.
The financial services subsidiary Aditya Birla Capital posted 17 per cent hike in consolidated revenue for the quarter at Rs 5,026 crore. Profit after tax grew by 16 per cent to Rs 289 crore, the highest ever reported so far.
Grasim said that net revenue for the viscose segment stood at Rs 2,145 crore in Q3 FY21 and EBITDA at Rs 482 crore improved substantially on the back of higher sales volumes, better product mix and lower cost even though the realisations were lower.
Like all commodities, pulp prices have also firmed up and are likely to increase further going forward.
Net revenue for the chemical business in Q3 FY21 stood at Rs 1,281 crore and EBITDA at Rs 177 crore -- close to pre-Covid levels.
The board of directors has already approved a foray into the paints business with initial capital expenditure of Rs 5,000 crore over the next three years.
The company believes that this sector is likely to be value accretive to its stakeholders. "The entry of Grasim in paints sector will offer a wide choice to Indian consumers as the company plans to introduce the latest range of paint products in line with global megatrends."
( With inputs from ANI )
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