Consolidated Operating Performance

CUMI’s abrasives sales on a consolidated basis registered an increase of 34%. Sales for the quarter was Rs.198 crores (Rs.148 crores for the corresponding period of last year). This growth was made possible by the continued strong off-take from user industries in India and Russia.

In India the order inflow for non-standard bonded abrasives, both from direct customers and from the trade channel was buoyant. Coated abrasive products also registered strong growth in sales compared to last year, primarily driven by the sheets and rolls segments. The manufacturing team performed creditably to support the surge in sales. The business was able to improve margins due to product mix and price increases. The operations in China, Middle East and Canada continued to be subdued though there were some improvements in the US operations. CUMI’s subsidiary and joint venture in Indian abrasive segment, registered growth rates in excess of 25% aided by the buoyancy in the manufacturing sector. Profit before interest and tax on a consolidated basis recorded an increase of 88% i.e. from Rs.17 crores to Rs.32 crores.

Electro Minerals

The second largest business segment viz. Electro Minerals continued to ride the growth wave with a robust increase of 33% in sales (Rs.176 crores vs. Rs.133 crores). The growth in sales was made possible by the robust performance of the Indian, Russian and South African operations. In Russia, sales growth was aided by higher price realisations. The Indian operations recorded good growth in both domestic and export sales. Captive sales also showed an improvement. All product segments registered good growth. The South African operations witnessed a revival in fortunes with profits showing a marked increase.

 Strong growth in revenues and also good improvement in operating margins enabled the increase in profit before interest and tax of the electro minerals business on a consolidated basis by 72% i.e. from Rs.21 Crores to Rs.36 Crores.

Ceramics

The ceramics segment recorded a 27% increase in sales on a consolidated basis (Rs.101 Crores vs. Rs.79 Crores). The high alumina ceramics business continued to perform well. Sales of metallized cylinders and wear resistant tiles registered strong growth. The growth in sales was driven more by the domestic market. Off-take was strong from the cement, material handling and ceramic tiles customer segments. Order inflow was good from the North American and Australian markets. CUMI Australia recovered from the slowdown experienced last year with sales increasing by 32%..

The super refractories and anti corrosives business on a standalone basis recorded a significant increase of 36% in revenues. Order inflow was strong both for fired and monolithic products. Off-take from iron and steel industry and carbon black industry was extremely encouraging. The joint ventures in the refractories business registered a marginal growth on a combined basis.

Profit before interest and tax of the ceramics business segment on a consolidated basis increased by 44% i.e. from Rs.15 crores to Rs.22 crores. Operating margins also witnessed a good increase.