Grasim Q3 net down 40 percent

Grasim Industries reported a 39.55 percent decline in its net profit at Rs 331.93 crores for the October-December

quarter due to higher raw material and finance costs. The Aditya Birla Group company, with business interests in cement, viscose staple fibre and others, had clocked Rs 549.17 crores consolidated net profit for the same period a year ago. Total income of the company rose to Rs 7,120.47 crores during the quarter as against Rs 6,779.54 crores a year earlier.

Total expenses, increased to Rs 6,449.65 crores from Rs 5,791.87 crores due to higher raw material costs that went up to Rs 1,767.08 crores from 1,577.88 crores in the year-ago period. Finance costs also increased to Rs 124.86 crores from Rs 82.26 crores. There was also Rs 123 crores additional outgo on other expenses at Rs 1,125.47 crores during the quarter.

Grasim Suitings, recently announced its plans of further establishing its India presence by focusing on stretchable fabrics. It has increased the production of stretch fabric over four times at its factories since the time it started producing it three years ago. From 2.5 lakh metres a year then to 13 lakh metres now, the stretch fabrics constitutes about 20 percent of the its total production. Apart from the domestic market, company exports stretch fabrics to global apparel makers in the US and Europe such as JC Penney and Marks & Spencer.