Mumbai, Oct. 18 (PTI): Hit by a slackening demand for real estate properties, UltraTech Cement today reported a 11.65 per cent drop in second-quarter net profit.

For the quarter ended September 30, the Aditya Birla Group company posted a a net profit of Rs 164.19 crore against Rs 185.86 crore in the year-ago period, UltraTech cement said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

“There is a visible slowdown in the real estate and infrastructure sector on account of the current liquidity crisis,” the company said.

“This has resulted in a slackening of demand for cement, which is now expected to grow around seven per cent to eight per cent compared with earlier forecasts of nine per cent to 10 per cent.”

Net sales of the company rose to Rs 1,396.21 crore in the reporting quarter from Rs 1,167.62 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

For the six-month period ended September, the company has posted a net profit of Rs 429.20 crore compared with Rs 445.24 crore in the corresponding period last year.

The recent fall in the dollar price of imported coal has been partly neutralised by the falling value of the Indian rupee, the statement added.

UltraTech has started commercial production of clinker from the expansion line at Andhra Pradesh Cement Works and of cement from its grinding unit at Ginigera in Karnataka.

Indian Bank numbers

Public sector Indian Bank has earned a net profit of Rs 282.93 crore for this quarter of the current fiscal compared with Rs 247.59 crore for the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Releasing the unaudited financial results for the quarter today, Indian Bank chairman M. S. Sundarajan said net profit recorded a growth of 14.27 per cent over the previous year.

Deposits, gross advances and total business recorded a growth of 20.22 per cent, 47.36 per cent and 30.47 per cent, respectively, during the quarter.

Deposits grew to Rs 64,614 crore from Rs 53,747 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.