Ambuja Cements fourth-quarter standalone profit jumps over 58 percent

(Reuters) - India's Ambuja Cements Ltd on Monday posted a 58.8 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit, exceeding analysts' estimates, as it logged higher cement sales and a tax benefit.

Standalone profit, which includes a joint operation accounted on a proportionate basis, came in at 5.37 billion rupees ($75.22 million) for the quarter ended Dec. 31, from 3.38 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said.

Analysts on average had expected the company, which is a unit of the world's largest cement maker LafargeHolcim Ltd, to post a profit of 2.95 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv Eikon data.

During the quarter, the company saw a tax benefit of 3.33 billion rupees.

 

Cement sales volume rose 4.4 percent to 6.13 million tonnes, the Mumbai-headquartered cement maker said.

Cement sales for the quarter climbed 5.8 percent to 27.65 billion rupees.

($1 = 71.3880 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)