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Aditya Birla Nuvo Q3 net down 8% at Rs 252 cr; revenue up 25%

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that measures were vital to the country's very economic survival.

Irate passengers at a closed Kingfisher Airlines counter, Mumbai airport - Source: AP
Irate passengers at a closed Kingfisher Airlines counter, Mumbai airport - Source: AP

Diversified conglomerate Aditya Birla Nuvo has reported 8 per cent drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 252 crore in the third quarter ended December 2011 as against Rs 275 crore in the same period last fiscal.

The bottom line was affected primarily due to higher depreciation and interest costs relating to 3G investments in the telecom business, the Aditya Birla Group company said in a release.

Revenue went up by 25 per cent at Rs 5,715 crore as compared to Rs 4,564 crore in the same period last year. During the nine-month period ended December 31, net profit jumped by 36 per cent to Rs 720 crore and revenue by 22 per cent at Rs 15,824 crore.

Commenting on the results, Rakesh Jain, Managing Director, said, "Aditya Birla Nuvo continues to post strong earnings despite the difficult macro-economic environment. While some of the businesses did get affected due to sector specific challenges, other businesses supported the overall earnings growth of the company."

Sushil Agarwal, Whole Time Director and CFO said, "Amidst challenging market conditions, Aditya Birla Nuvo has strengthened its positioning in the financial services, telecom and fashion & lifestyle businesses."

During the quarter under review, Birla Financial Services (ABFS) posted a consolidated revenue of Rs 1,558 crore and earnings before tax (EBT) at Rs 138 crore. During the nine months period, its revenue grew by 5 per cent to Rs 4,569 crore.

ABFS is managing assets of about Rs 84,100 crore, making it one of the leading fund managers in the country, the release said.

Birla Sun Life Insurance and Birla Sun Life Asset Management improved their market rankings to reach the 4th position during the year.

Aditya Birla Finance has scaled its book size growing year-on-year by 86 per cent. Aditya Birla Private Equity has raised its second fund, taking its total funds under management to Rs 1,179 crore, the release said.

The telecom arm, Idea, continued to gain revenue market share, which stands enhanced at 14 percent up from 12.8 percent a year ago, it said.

Reflecting strength of its brand and quality of its services, Idea continues to lead the industry as an MNP provider and enjoys the highest active subscribers' ratio in the industry.

Its quarterly revenue expanded by 27 per cent to Rs 5,020 crore. Net profit stood lower at Rs 201 crore vis-à-vis Rs 243 crore due to higher depreciation/amortisation and interest costs relating to 3G investments coupled with higher deferred tax, the release said.

Its fashion & lifestyle division, Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, continued to scale up its retail presence to strengthen its leadership position across its power brands. Its revenue grew by 17 per cent to Rs 590 crore and EBITDA surged by 19 per cent to Rs 56 crore.

The combined revenue of manufacturing division soared by 46 per cent to Rs 1,791 crore, largely driven by commencement of trading of imported fertilisers. Increase in realisation in agri, carbon black, rayon and textiles businesses to partly pass on the rise in production costs also contributed, it said.