Indian cement makers' core profit/ton to decline in Q4, Emkay says

Ramco Cements

05/03/2024 07:48

(Adds mention of Ramco Cements in last bullet, updates shares
in penultimate bullet)
    ** Core profit per ton of Indian cement makers is likely to
decline Q/Q in the range of 70 rupees to 100 rupees in Q4,
brokerage Emkay Research says
    ** Pan-India prices so far in Q4 are 3%-3.5% lower than
average prices in Q3, led by declines in east and south regions,
says note
    ** Adds QTD, volumes likely rose in mid-single digits Y/Y
    ** Emkay expects demand trends to improve in March but says
any material price hike unlikely before general elections due by
May 
    ** Brokerage's "top picks" are sector leader UltraTech
Cement  ULTC.NS  and Adani-owned Ambuja Cements  ABUJ.NS  
    ** Adds relative demand slowdown, market share fight by
larger players led prices to dip 1.5%-2% M/M in Feb 
    ** ULTC slips 0.9% while ABUJ largely flat 
    ** The Ramco Cements  TRCE.NS  - which counts south and east
as its major markets and has a "reduce" rating from the
brokerage - loses ~3%


 (Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru)
 ((Hritam.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com;))