Grasim Q3 consolidated net profit down at Rs 549 cr

Aditya Birla Group company Grasim Industries reported a

consolidated net profit of Rs 549.17 crores for the quarter ended December 2012, against Rs 669.07 crores in during the same period a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 6,945.75 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2012 whereas the same was at Rs 6,505.20 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.

The company has posted a net profit of Rs 197.95 crores on standalone basis for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, against Rs 274.48 crores for the quarter ended December 2011. Total income has decreased to Rs 1,299.09 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2012, from Rs 1,352.12 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, a company said in a filing to BSE.

Given the challenging global and domestic market conditions, the company has performed well, a company statement said. The company said that the market conditions for the textile industry, the key consumer of Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF), continued to be challenging. This was compounded by the surplus VSF capacity in China and depressed cotton prices. Despite the difficult environment, sales volumes of the company’s VSF division at 78,579 tonnes have been sustained.

Volumes during the nine months have grown by 14 percent for Grasim while global VSF prices declined sharply by 14 percent as compared to Q3 last year. The rupee depreciation has reduced its impact in the domestic market to some extent.