Shree Cement falls short of profit view as rising costs offset record sales

India's Shree Cement posted a fourth-quarter profit that fell just shy of analysts estimates on Wednesday, as record sales volumes were outweighed by higher expenses and a bigger tax bill.

The company's net profit dropped about 16% to 5.56 billion rupees ($65.2 million), just below analysts' average expectation of 5.59 billion rupees, per data compiled by LSEG.

In a seasonally strong quarter, Shree Cement's sales volumes hit a record 9.84 million tonnes, lifting revenue by 3% to 52.40 billion rupees, which exceeded analysts' expectations. 

However, its total costs rose about 5% to 46.48 billion rupees. Freight costs, which account for a quarter of the total expenses, jumped more than 10%. The company's tax expenses also went up 69%.  KEY CONTEXT

The weather in India during the January-March period is usually favourable for construction activities, which spurs demand for cement. Cement mills typically cash in on this by boosting their volumes.

Prices also began to recover in the past few months, reversing from declines logged for the bulk of last year. However, the average all-India cement price for the January-March quarter was 2% lower on-year, data from brokerage Ambit Capital showed.

As a result, the sector has furnished a mixed bag of results. Market leader UltraTech Cement missed estimates on soft pricing while strong volumes boosted profits at rival Adani-owned Ambuja Cements.