UltraTech Cement qtrly profit falls, misses expectations

Cement maker UltraTech Cement quarterly profit dropped 9.4 per cent and missed market expectations, hurt by higher expenses. Standalone net profit, which does not account for its subsidiaries, stood at Rs 391 crore ($53.23 million) for the quarter ended September 30, compared with a profit of Rs 431 crore a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Analysts on average had expected the company to post a profit of Rs 415 crore, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. However, revenue from operations jumped 20.9 percent to Rs 7,771 crore while total expenses rose 23.5 per cent. Rising energy and logistics cost coupled with rupee depreciation led to a 14 per cent increase in costs compared with second quarter of fiscal 2018, the company said. Shares of UltraTech Cement settled down by 3.2 per cent after the results today.