Birla Corporation shares jump 20% on strong Q4, dividend payment

Shares of Birla Corporation Ltd surged 20% to hit its three-month high level on Monday on the NSE, after the company reported a strong performance in the fourth quarter of FY25. The sentiment was further lifted after the board of the company proposed a final dividend of ₹10 per share (100% of face value) for FY25, to be distributed post shareholder approval at the upcoming AGM.

On the BSE, Birla Corp shares opened at ₹1,268.80, up 20% from the previous close of ₹1,057.40.  Following this, the stock was locked in its upper circuit limit. On the NSE, the stock hit its upper circuit at ₹1,268.80, taking its market capitalisation to ₹9,770.40 crore.

With this sharp move, the stock has reversed its year-to-date losses and is now trading in the green for 2025, although it remains 24% below its 52-week high. The stock has risen almost 3% since January.

The rally was driven by robust March quarter results, which showed a sharp recovery in profitability, better cement realisations, improved operating margins, and higher sales volumes. Net profit for Q4FY25 rose 32.8% year-on-year to ₹256.6 crore, compared to ₹193.3 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations rose 6.1% to ₹2,815 crore, while consolidated revenue came in at ₹2,863 crore, marking a 7% increase.

A key highlight was the surge in operating margins. EBITDA for the quarter stood at ₹534 crore, up 13.1% year-on-year. EBITDA margin improved to 19%, from 17.8% in Q4FY24. EBITDA per tonne rose to ₹1,014 — the highest in the last 18 quarters — marking a 78% sequential jump and a 5% rise year-on-year. Cement realisations improved 7% sequentially to ₹5,103 per tonne, though slightly below ₹5,178 per tonne in the same period last year due to changes in geographical mix.

Cement sales volumes for the quarter came in at 5.2 million tonnes, up 8% year-on-year and 16.7% over the previous quarter. Strong demand and pricing during the quarter led to a capacity utilisation rate of 105%, the highest in recent quarters. However, for the full financial year FY25, the company reported a net profit of ₹295 crore, down 30% year-on-year, as the first three quarters were impacted by weak pricing and high input costs.

Despite a 2.5% rise in annual cement sales to 18.1 million tonnes, full-year consolidated revenue declined 4% to ₹9,312 crore. Average realisation for the year dropped 7% to ₹4,866 per tonne, reflecting pricing pressure seen industry-wide until December. As a result, the company’s full-year EBITDA margin stood at 14%, down from 15.5% in FY24.

Looking ahead, the board has also approved a capital expenditure of ₹4,330 crore to expand cement capacity from the current 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 27.6 MTPA by FY29. This includes setting up a greenfield cement grinding unit in Gaya, Bihar, with a capacity of 2.8 MTPA. The expansion will be executed at an enterprise value of $82 per tonne. The company will also raise up to ₹200 crore through the issuance of redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in one or more tranches.