India's Shree Cement Q4 profit beats view on strong sales volume

Shree Cement

14/05/2024 12:45

May 14 (Reuters) -    Shree Cement, India's third-largest cement maker
by market capitalisation, reported a bigger-than-expected fourth-quarter profit
on Tuesday as lower cement prices helped boost volumes.
    Cement makers usually report strong volumes in the March-quarter as they
push down prices to clear fiscal year-end inventory backlogs. Analysts had
expected lower fuel costs to help offset the dip in prices.
    Shree Cement's profit for the quarter ended March 31 rose to 6.62 billion
rupees ($79.3 million), beating street expectations of 6.20 billion rupees,
according to LSEG data. The company had reported a profit of 5.46 billion rupees
a year earlier.   
        The company's total sales volumes increased 8% to 9.53 million tonnes
during the quarter, leading to a 6.6% rise in revenue to 51.01 billion rupees.
    Peers UltraTech Cement  ULTC.NS , ACC  ACC.NS  and Dalmia Bharat  DALB.NS 
have also reported better-than-expected quarterly profit, aided by volume
growth. 
    Shree Cement on Tuesday recommended a final dividend of 55 rupees per share.
    Shares of Shree Cement have fallen about 9.17% so far this year vs a 15.23%
climb in the Nifty infrastructure index  .NIFTYINFR .  
    India's ongoing general elections are expected to dampen demand for cement
in the first quarter of this fiscal year as infrastructure and real estate
companies slow down construction activity.    

($1 = 83.5023 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Anisha Ajith in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((anisha.ajith@thomsonreuters.com;))