Birla Corporation tanks 7% as credit adjustments cause 55% plunge in Q4 PAT

NEW DELHI – Shares of Birla Corporation dropped 6.8 per cent in early trade on Thursday as the Birla group reported a disappointing set of numbers in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year, with net profit falling sharply on account of credit adjustments.

The firm reported a 55.44 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 111.08 crore in the fourth quarter ended on March 31, 2022. It had posted a net profit of Rs 249.33 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago.

Birla Corporation’s share price fell to a low of Rs 895.30 as against Rs 960.55 at the previous close on the BSE.

However, the firm’s revenue from operation was up 6.17 per cent at Rs 2,264.21 crore during the quarter under review compared to Rs 2,132.61 crore in the year-ago quarter, reports said.

According to reports, Birla Corporation's total expenses were at Rs 2,141.92 crore, up 12.23 per cent in Q4FY22 as against Rs 1,908.49 crore.

"While profit before tax for the March quarter at Rs 153.18 crore was lower by 14.8 per cent, the net profit at Rs 111.08 crore was down 55.5 per cent year-on-year, due to one-off credit adjustment of Rs 124.98 crore in income-tax expense in the previous year," the company was quoted as saying.

The company’s revenue from the cement segment was at Rs 2,150.01 crore during the quarter, up 6.17 per cent from Rs 2,024.91 crore, reports said, adding that revenue from the jute segment was up 5.92 per cent at Rs 114.15 crore from Rs 107.76 crore in Q4FY21.

The company is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of cement as its core business activity. It has a significant presence in the jute goods industry as well.

The board of the Kolkata-Headquartered company has also recommended a dividend of Rs 10 per share for the financial year 2021-22, reports said.