The drop in profit has been almost as sharp during the first six months as well, during which net profit fell from Rs 21.10 crore to Rs 8.69 crore. Other income was the saving grace with total inflow aggregating to Rs 21.4 crore, up from Rs 17.5 crore in the same period last year. The sale of investments in HDFC and ICICI enabled the company to generate Rs 13.61 crore during the second quarter of the current fiscal.

The company is in the final stages of transferring its captive power plants at Wadi to Tata Electric for around Rs 350 crore and this will provide ACC a substantial other income cushion during the second half as well. The transfer of power plants, which is now in thefinal stages, is likely to be accounted for in the next quarter. However, procedural delays may push the accrual of income to the fourth quarter.

Net sales during the second quarter, however, increased to Rs 627.72 crore from Rs 575.22 crore with volume sales rising from 2.21 million tonnes to 2.35 million tonnes. Net income from operations during the first half surged by 11.50 per cent to Rs 1,328.19 crore.