Ambuja Cements slips on keeping mining operation at HP plants in abeyance

Ambuja Cements fell 1.43% to Rs 158.60 at 15:18 IST on BSE after the company kept mining operation at its Himachal Pradesh plants in abeyance pursuant to a notice received from the Ministry of Environment and Forest.

The announcement was made during market hours today, 12 February 2014.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 101.33 points, or 0.5%, to 20,464.70

On BSE, so far 47,199 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 1 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 160.40 and a low of Rs 158.20 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 211.90 on 18 July 2013. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 147.55 on 28 August 2013.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 6 February 2014, falling 4.14% compared with the Sensex's 2.29% fall. The scrip had underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 7.26% as against Sensex's 2.80% decline.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 309.17 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Ambuja Cements said that pursuant to a notice received from the Ministry of Environment and Forest, the mining operation at the company's Himachal Pradesh (HP) plants has been kept in abeyance.

While complying with the notice of the ministry, the company is exploring making representation to the concerned authority and taking all the measures for withdrawal of the said notice including the recourse, if necessary, to the legal remedies, Ambuja Cements said in a statement.

While the clinker production at the company's Darlaghat plant has stopped temporarily till the abeyance is lifted, the cement production and dispatches are unaffected with the help of available clinker inventory. Also, the company has drawn plans to mobilize the clinker from its other plants, its Associates and the market to ensure uninterrupted supply of cement in the market, the company said.

Ambuja Cements' net profit rose 49.3% to Rs 316.50 crore on 5.2% decline in total income to Rs 2297.62 crore in Q4 December 2013 over Q4 December 2012.

Ambuja Cements is engaged in manufacturing and marketing cement and clinker for both domestic and exports markets.

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