India's Ramco Cements misses Q1 earnings estimates on weak demand, prices

Ramco Cements

25/07/2024 13:03

BENGALURU, July 25 (Reuters) - India's Ramco Cements  TRCE.NS  missed first-quarter earnings estimates on Thursday,
hurt by muted demand and low prices.
    The company's standalone net profit after tax, which includes only its cement business, more than halved to 355 million
rupees ($4.2 million) for the quarter ended June 30. Analysts had expected a profit of 442.6 million rupees, as per LSEG
data.
    Revenue fell 7% to 20.88 billion rupees, also below analysts' estimate of 21.91 billion rupees.
    For further highlights, click:  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN3JH1EZ
    
    KEY CONTEXT
    A combination of elections and extreme heat conditions during the reporting quarter restricted construction activities,
impacting sales volumes for cement makers, who were also forced to cut prices to stave off rising competition.
    Cement prices were hovering around more-than-three-year lows from April to June, as attempts to raise prices were
stymied by soft demand and an aggressive fight for market share, analysts said.
    UltraTech Cement  ULTC.NS , India's biggest cement maker, reported profit and revenue below estimates last week, hurt by
lower demand and muted pricing.
    South India, Ramco Cements' key market, has been gaining more traction with sector leaders like UltraTech and Adani
Group's Ambuja Cements dialling up dealmaking in the region to expand their reach. 
 
    PEER COMPARISON
    
                                     Valuation (next    Estimates (next 12            Analysts' sentiment          
                                       12 months)            months)                                               
                        RIC          PE      EV/EBIT  Revenue       Profit     Mean      # of      Stock to price  Div yield
                                             DA       growth (%)    growth     rating*   analysts  target**        (%)
                                                                    (%)                                            
 Ramco Cements Limited   TRCE.NS      31.16    12.59      7.67        30.70    Hold            21       0.87            0.32
 JK Lakshmi Cement Ltd   JKLC.NS      16.43     8.72      9.30        18.17    Buy             11       0.90            0.35
 India Cements Ltd       ICMN.NS      85.87    25.76      6.85          -      Sell             5       2.05            0.00
 Nuvoco Vistas           NUVO.NS      33.63     8.96      6.71        88.28    Buy             16       0.87               -
 Corporation Ltd                                                                                                   
 
* The mean of analyst ratings standardised to a scale of Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Sell, and Strong Sell
** The 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 LSEG 
-- $1 = 83.7190 Indian rupees

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Ramco Cement q1    https://tmsnrt.rs/3y8Ad2T
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 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee and Anisha Ajith in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
 ((anisha.ajith@thomsonreuters.com;))