Cement shares gain on strong Q1 earnings

Mangalam Cement, JK Cement, JK Lakshmi, OCL India, Sagar Cements, and Saurashtra Cement were up 2%-9% on the BSE

Shares of midcap cement companies have rallied up to 13%, with most of them hitting their respective 52-week highs on the BSE in intra-day trade after reporting robust earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 (Q1FY17) because of lower operational costs.

Mangalam Cement, JK Cement, JK Lakshmi Cement, Sagar Cements, OCL India, Saurashtra Cement and Prism Cement were up 2%-9% on the BSE at 10:06 am. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.44% at 28,200.

Mangalam Cement surged 13% to Rs 330, also its 52-week high on the BSE. The company posted net profit of Rs 22.59 crore in Q1FY17 against a net loss of Rs 18.91 crore in a year-ago quarter.

JK Cement too hit fresh 52-week high of Rs 815, up 9% on the BSE in intra-day trade.  The Kanpur-based company reported net profit of Rs 61 crore in Q1FY17, as compared to Rs 1 crore in Q1FY16.

Meanwhile, total 12 cement companies so far declared their Q1 results, reported 55% year on year jump in aggregate net profit at Rs 1,675 crore. These companies had a combined profit of Rs 1,080 crore in Q1FY16.

The market analysts believes the demand outlook for cement sector remain strong on the back of pick-up in infra spending and improving outlook for rural demand driven by better monsoons.

COMPANY	LATEST	PREV CLOSE	GAIN(%)
MANGALAM CEMENT	318.20	292.65	8.73
J K CEMENTS	797.00	748.05	6.54
KEERTHI INDUS	142.50	135.80	4.93
SAGAR CEMENTS	615.75	588.15	4.69
JK LAKSHMI CEM.	445.80	427.75	4.22
SAURASHTRA CEM.	74.50	71.80	3.76
SH. DIGVIJAY CEM	25.90	25.00	3.60
OCL INDIA	758.00	733.25	3.38
KAKATIYA CEMENT	415.50	406.65	2.18
PRISM CEMENT	110.75	108.80	1.79