Dalmia Bharat Posts 205 cr Loss in Q2 on Exceptional Hit

What happened

Dalmia Bharat reported a consolidated loss of 205 crore for the September quarter, hurt by a 339 crore exceptional loss tied to asset impairment and an employee separation scheme. Sales volume rose 3% to 7.1 million tonnes.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

The loss came from one-time charges, not just weak operations, while Ebitda fell 29% as power and fuel costs rose. Higher power and fuel costs, which are energy expenses for running cement plants, squeeze profit per sale.

Analyst inference

Cement demand was weak in some key markets, and sales volume rose only 3% while total expenses grew 13%. Net sales realisation rose 1%, meaning the average price received per tonne barely improved, limiting room to absorb cost pressure.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Power and fuel costs rose up to 22% year-on-year to 874 crore, so the company's cost optimisation efforts and cement price momentum will determine whether Ebitda per tonne recovers from its 31% fall. Confirmed
2. Management hopes positive momentum on cement prices and consistent focus on cost optimisation will help mitigate cost pressure, a forward-looking expectation rather than a reported result. Proposed
3. Watch whether the company books further exceptional losses, since it already reported one in the June quarter and September costs included an employee separation scheme and asset impairment. Analyst inference

Evidence

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