HeidelbergCement India surges 12% on strong Q3 results

The stock surged 12% to Rs 168 on BSE in intra-day after the company reported net profit of Rs 318 million in Q3FY18 against net loss of Rs 36 million in year ago quarter

HeidelbergCement India surged 12% to Rs 168 on BSE in afternoon deals after the company reported net profit of Rs 318 million for the quarter ended December 2017 (Q3FY18), on back of higher sales. It had posted a net loss of Rs 36 million in the same quarter last fiscal.

Net sales during the quarter rose 24.8% to Rs 4,839 million against Rs 3,878 million in the corresponding quarter of previous year.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margins improved to 17% from 12% in year ago quarter.

“Construction activities picked up as availability of sand/aggregates improved in most parts of Central India during Q3FY18.
Despite further hardening of petcoke and fuel prices during the quarter, total operating costs remained at par on y-o-y basis driven by concerted efforts on consumption parameters,” HeidelbergCement India said in a statement.

Affordable housing and infrastructure spending picked up as well supporting volume offtake in key markets while some improvement versus last year can also be attributed to the base effect, it added.

At 02:21 pm, the stock was trading 8% higher at Rs 162 on BSE, as compared to 1% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. The trading volumes on the counter jumped more than five-fold with 2.04 million shares changed hands on BSE and NSE so far.