ACC net up 54% at Rs 435 cr

India's cement industry is set to add 40 mt of capacity this fiscal, a 21% rise over 2008-09. Cos expect demand from infrastructure sector will drive growth The country's largest cement maker ACC on Wednesday posted a 54% jump in quarterly net profit on the back of buoyant demand and lower operational costs.      Holcim-controlled company has posted a net profit of Rs 435 crore in the September quarter, compared with Rs 283 crore in a year-ago period, while net sales went up by 10% to Rs 1,969 crore.      Sumit Banerjee, MD, ACC, told ET: "Our team efforts in cost management are yielding results." ACC's energy costs fell 13% during the quarter to Rs 382 crore largely due to lower coal prices. ACC expects a significant increase in demand from the infrastructure sector and other development schemes of the government. However, additional capacity to come on stream within the next year is a concern.      Swiss cement maker Holcim holds 46.21% equity in ACC and has a combined capacity of 41 million tonne in India. On BSE, ACC shares were down 1.63% to Rs 745.95 on Wednesday.      The Indian cement industry, second largest in the world after China, will add 40 million tonne of capacity this fiscal, a 21% increase over the installed capacity at 212 mt in 2008-09.