UltraTech Cement, a leading cement manufacturer in India, reported a decline in consolidated net profits for the fourth quarter of 2022-23. The company’s net profit dropped by 32.29% to Rs 1,665.95 crore as tax expenses of continuing operations rose during the period under review. This is in contrast to the year-ago quarter when the Aditya Birla group company recorded a net profit of Rs 2,460.51 crore. The decline in profits comes a day after its rival, ACC, which is now under Gautam Adani’s fold, reported a 40.53% decline in consolidated net profit in the same period.

After acquiring ACC and Ambuja Cements, the Adani group, which is looking to outperform UltraTech Cement, has announced plans to double capacity to 140 million tonnes (mt) by 2027-28. Despite cement prices being muted during the quarter, Anil Singhvi, executive chairman at Shree Digvijay Cement, said that prices were expected to rise either in May or June. UltraTech Cement has a consolidated grey cement capacity of 134.5mt, which is projected to increase to 160.45mt.

During the quarter, UltraTech Cement reported a current tax charge of Rs 800.82 crore and a deferred tax charge of Rs 21.48 crore against a tax credit of Rs 139.26 crore and deferred tax credit of Rs 58.73 crore in the year-ago period. Despite the decline in profits, the quarter saw its revenues increase to Rs 18,642.38 crore from Rs 15,767.28 crore in the corresponding previous period.

In related news, the Adani group reportedly pre-paid $200 million recently as part of a $1 billion mezzanine loan taken from global banks to fund the acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC that was completed last year. This pre-payment will help the Adani firm seek an extension of the debt taken to fund the acquisition by three years. The group has been focusing on reducing its debt through prepayment and holding back on some of its planned investment programmes since a report from Hindenburg Research alleging accounting fraud and stock price manipulation hit the conglomerate. There are also fresh reports that the group is looking to raise $1-1.5 billion for financing new green energy projects.