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[February 2009]
Kajaria Ceramics Gearing Up For Challenges
Kajaria Ceramics Ltd, India’s leading ceramic tile manufacturer, announced its results for the third quarter of its financial year, and nine-month round-up.
For Q3 (ended December 2008), total income from operations increased 20% to Rs 1631.6 million from Rs 1362.7 million reported in the corresponding quarter of 2007. For the first nine months, it increased by 38% to Rs 5017.3 million from Rs 3639.4 million reported in the corresponding period last time round.
EBIDTA for Q3 grew to Rs 235.8 million from Rs 217.9 million showing a growth of 8%. The EBITDA for the first nine months increased to Rs 677.0 million from Rs 631.7 million with a growth of 7%.
The net profit after tax in Q3 was Rs 1.9 million as against Rs 31.2 million in the corresponding previous quarter. The net profit after tax for the first nine months stood at Rs 83.3 million as against Rs 103.6 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The decline in net profit in Q3 arose because of an increase in interest costs due to a sudden rise in the cost of overseas refinance credit and the foreign currency rate fluctuation with regard to import business. Going forward the company expects a decline in the interest cost because of falling inflation and an improved liquidity situation in the country and stabilised overseas credit costs.
Commenting on the performance for the period ended December 2008, Ashok Kajaria, Chairman, said: “We are gearing up to address the challenges thrown up by the continually evolving environment. We are in the process of consolidating our businesses across all the segments. We expect the initiatives taken by us would lead us to establish ourselves as much stronger and vibrant company, addressing the needs of its stakeholders across the categories”.
Kajaria Ceramics is the largest manufacturer of ceramics tiles in India. It has an annual capacity of 21 million square metres distributed across two plants – one in Sikandrabad in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Gailpur in Rajasthan. The company has received ISO 9001 (for quality management), ISO 14001 (environment management), OHSAS 18001 (for safety and health management) and SA-8000 (for commitment to society) certifications across its plant.
ENDS