India's JK Lakshmi Cement reports 29% fall in Q1 profit on higher costs

JK Lakshmi Cement

27/07/2023 13:23

BENGALURU, July 27 (Reuters) - India's JK Lakshmi Cement  JKLC.NS  on Thursday reported a 29% drop in
first-quarter profit as higher expenses ate into the company's sales.
    Consolidated net profit fell to 784.7 million rupees ($9.58 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from 1.11
billion rupees last year. 
    Revenue from operations rose 4.6% to 17.30 billion rupees but was offset by a surge in expenses, which
increased 9% to 16.23 billion rupees as inventory costs spiked. 
    The company said it is raising funds of up to 25 billion rupees to finance its ongoing projects and to explore
growth opportunities. 
    
    KEY CONTEXT
    
    Cement companies have battled higher costs as inflationary headwinds continue to buoy raw material prices and
inventory expenses. 
    A heavy monsoon raging through northern parts of the country and a cyclone that ravaged western states have
halted construction work impacting cement sales. 
    JK Lakshmi Cement's rivals Ultratech Cement  ULTC.NS  and Shree Cement  SHCM.NS  also saw costs rise during the
quarter. Adani Group-owned cement maker ACC Ltd  ACC.NS  reported a 10.3% rise in total expenses, although profit
more than doubled. 
    
    
        PEER COMPARISON    
                              Valuation (next 12    Estimates   Analysts                                   
                                    months)          (next 12      '                                       
                                                     months)    sentimen                                   
                                                                   t                                       
                      RIC    PE     EV/EBI  Price/  Revenue     Profit    Mean     # of     Stock to       Div
                                    TDA     Sales   growth      growth    rating*  analyst  price          yield
                                                                                   s        target**       (%)
 JK Lakshmi Cement    JKLC.  14.67    7.80  NULL       9.12      34.61    Buy           11      0.87           0.73
 Ltd                  NS                                                                                   
 UltraTech Cement     ULTC.  29.49   16.63  NULL      10.42      41.01    Buy           36      0.95           0.45
 Ltd                  NS                                                                                   
 Shree Cement Ltd     SHCM.  38.77   19.34  NULL       9.00      47.73    Hold          17      1.01           0.42
                      NS                                                                                   
 ACC Ltd              ACC.N  19.97   10.97  NULL      -8.17      37.02    Buy           29      0.92           0.49
                      S                                                                                    
 
    ** Mean of analysts' ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
    ** Ratio of the stock's last close to analysts' mean price target; a ratio above 1 means the stock is trading
above the PT
    
    APRIL-JUNE STOCK PERFORMANCE
    
    
    -- All data from Refinitiv
    -- ($1 = 81.8990 Indian rupees)

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APRIL - JUNE STOCK PERFORMANCE    https://tmsnrt.rs/3OdKleI
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 (Reporting by Biplob Kumar Das in Bengaluru; editing by Eileen Soreng)
 ((Biplobkumar.das@thomsonreuters.com; 9101861583;))