Ambuja cement faces Subdued performance amid rising cost pressures in Q3
Ambuja Cements, the third largest cement manufacturer in India, reported a muted set of Q3 CY18 earnings. While topline grew by double-digits on the back of healthy volume growth, operating profit came in flat as margin slumped as a result of increasing cost pressures. Revenue grew 13 percent year-on-year (YoY) at Rs 2,614 crore, driven by an improvement in volumes. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at Rs 358 crore compared to Rs 354 crore in the same period last year. EBITDA margin contracted around 160 basis points (100 bps = 1 percentage point) on a yearly basis. Profit after tax came in 34 percent lower on account of lower other income (Rs 48 crore in Q3 CY18 versus Rs153 crore in Q3 CY17). Strong demand across regions drove cement volumes higher. The latter rose 9 percent YoY to 5.5 million tonne. Capacity utilisation improved to around 74 percent in Q3 CY18 from 68 percent YoY. The same for the January-September period stood at 82 percent.
Tags : ALLIED