Ambuja Cements Q4 results: fall in volume to weigh on profit

NEW DELHI: Cement maker Ambuja Cements is likely to report tepid profit growth for March quarter on flattish sales. While blended realisation may jump on higher pricing, a 9-12 per cent fall in volumes may weigh on the cement maker’s quarterly numbers.Lower fuel costs may aid margins, said analysts, who believe an update on capacity expansion will be key monitorable in the earnings report.The company, which follows January-December calendar as financial year, will report its first quarter numbers on Monday.Cement demand, which was poor during April-October, picked up since November 2019. However, it fell 30-40 per cent in March due to the lockdown.Ambuja Cements’ volumes are seen falling 9-12 per cent in March quarter on year-on-year basis. Nomura India expects profit for the cement maker to drop 26 per cent YoY to Rs 317 crore and Ebitda per tonne to increase by 7 per cent.Other brokerages expect profit to rise, but marginally.Elara Capital expects net sales at Rs 2,812 crore, down 1.2 per cent YoY, and profit growth at 2.9 per cent to Rs 402.10 crore.Centrum Broking also expects the cement maker’s profit to rise 4.4 per cent to Rs 393.50 crore, while sales are projected to fall 9.1 per cent to Rs 2,660 crore.The brokerage sees Ebitda margin rising to 17.4 per cent, up 160 basis points over 15.8 per cent reported for the year-ago quarter. Ebitda per tonne is seen rising to Rs 832 from Rs 727, up 14.4 per cent.

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