Ambuja Cements reports Q3 profit at Rs. 478 crore

Ambuja Cement, a part of the Swiss cement giant LafargeHolcim, on Tuesday reported 77.12 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 478.39 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, helped by higher cement sales volume The company had reported a net profit of Rs 270.08 crore in October- December a year-ago, Ambuja Cement said in a BSE filing. Total income during the period under review was up 10.96 per cent to Rs 6,264.81 crore as against Rs 5,645.84 crore in the year-ago period. Ambuja Cements managing director and chief executive officer Ajay Kapur said, “Robust volume growth and record clinker production in the quarter ended December 2017 helped Ambuja Cements deliver strong performance.” Sales volume during the quarter was up 17.4% to 5.87 million metric tonne (MMT) as against 5 MMT of October-December period of 2016-17. He further said, “Our strategy to focus on premium products, core markets and managing costs has delivered higher sales and Ebitda.” Company’s total expense in December quarter was up 4.36% at Rs5,541.24 crore as against Rs5,309.59 crore in the year-ago quarter. In a separate filing, Ambuja Cements informed that its board has recommended a final dividend of 100%, which is Rs. 2 per share. “Together with the interim dividend of Rs. 1.60 share, the total dividend for the year is Rs. 3.60 per share (180 per cent),” the company said in a statement. On the outlook, the company said the increased budgetary outlay by the government for “infrastructure development and the focus on affordable housing would benefit the cement sector.” It also informed that Roland Kohler, executive committee member of LafargeHolcim, has been appointed as additional director of the company with effect from 20 February 2018.