India's UltraTech Cement misses profit view as higher costs weigh (updated)
UPDATE 1-India's UltraTech Cement misses profit view as higher costs weigh Adds details throughout
Oct 19 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS, India's largest cement producer by capacity, reported a smaller-than-expected rise in second-quarter profit on Monday, weighed down by higher raw material costs despite strong growth in volumes.
Consolidated net profit rose 21.3% year-on-year to 14.94 billion rupees ($157.4 million) for the three months ended September 30, below analysts' expectation of 17.05 billion rupees, per data compiled by LSEG.
Indian cement makers have been dealing with increased prices of key fuels and implemented price hikes in September to pass on the higher costs. Analysts at JM Financial said average cement prices increased by 6–7 rupees per bag in the second half of the month.
Total expenses rose 17.8% during the quarter, as raw material costs jumped 24%.
Operating EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, rose by 60 rupees year-on-year to 974 rupees per ton.
Analysts at Macquarie expect Indian cement companies to roll out further price hikes after the local festive season as construction activity picks up.
Ultratech's domestic grey cement sales volumes climbed 13.8% to 35.94 million metric tons, aided by a low base and a capex cycle pick-up. Its consolidated domestic grey cement capacity stood at 204.7 mtpa as on September-end.
Revenue from operations rose about 18.8% to 232.95 billion rupees ($2.45 billion), beating street expectations of 223.78 billion rupees.
The company's shares traded 2.3% lower at 10,662 rupees after it posted quarterly results.
($1 = 94.9300 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Vijay Malkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ronojoy Mazumdar and Harikrishnan Nair)
((VijayDattaram.Malkar@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8097833031;))
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