 "HeidelbergCement India surges 13% on heavy volumes in weak market; details")
HeidelbergCement India share price surged 13 per cent to Rs 242.78 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Monday's intraday trade, outperforming in a weak market on the back of heavy volumes.
At 12:42 PM, the stock was trading 5 per cent higher at Rs 226.15 as compared to 0.95 per cent decline in Nifty 50. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 index, meanwhile, were down 2.5 per cent and 3.6 per cent, respectively.
A combined 4.62 million equity shares, representing 6.7 per cent of total free-float equity of Heidelberg Cement India, have changed hands on the NSE and BSE thus far in trades. Notably, promoters held 69.39 per cent stake in the company at the end of Q3.
The stock price of the cement & cement products company had hit a 52-week high of Rs 258 on October 7, 2024, after reported said that Ambuja Cements was in talks to acquire the Indian operations of Heidelberg at an estimated cost of Rs 10,000 crore for 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
On its part, HeidelbergCement India had clarified that the company was unaware about any such development and cannot comment on market speculations.
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Now, news reports suggest that UltraTech Cement, India's top cement producer by capacity, is in advanced talks with German firm Heidelberg to acquire its India local business.
Executives from the Aditya Birla Group, UltraTech's parent, met Heidelberg management to discuss the acquisition of HeidelbergCement India, a Reuters report said quoting news website Moneycontrol.
Business Standard could not independently verify these reports.
Heidelberg Cement Q3 results
HeidelbergCement India, which has operations in Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), and Karnataka, will hold a meeting of the board of directors on Thursday, 30 January 2025, to consider and approve the unaudited financial results for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2024.
In the July-September quarter (Q2FY25), HeidelbergCement had reported disappointing results, experiencing a 15-per cent decline in volume. Revenue and Ebitda decreased by 19 per cent and 46 per cent YoY, respectively, primarily driven by lower realisations and negative operating leverage.
The net profit stood at Rs 11 crore, below Street's estimates of Rs 21 crore, and down 69 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) from Rs 36 crore in Q2FY24.
"The company reported its lowest volume in the last 16 quarters, as soft demand and heightened competitive intensity significantly impacted volume growth. Although the company is actively de-bottlenecking its existing clinker capacity, which is anticipated to facilitate higher volume growth in the future, we remain cautious," said a note by Axis Securities.
"We will await meaningful improvements in its operating performance before making any further assessments," it added.