India Cements Q3 result: Loss narrows to ₹5.7 crore, revenue up 23%

India Cements posted a smaller third-quarter loss on Friday compared to a year earlier, helped ‍by a 25 per cent jump ​in sales volumes as parent UltraTech Cement ramps up capacity to meet an uptick in demand.

The Chennai-headquartered cement maker posted a loss of 57.2 million rupees ($622,568.09) in the quarter ended December 31, compared to a loss of 4.09 billion rupees ​a year earlier.

Revenue rose 23.5 per cent to 11.14 billion rupees.

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KEY CONTEXT

Demand for construction materials is usually weak in India during the October-December period, as festivals in various parts of the country lead to a shortage of labour.

 

However, demand firmed materially last month, Jefferies said in a pre-earnings note, ahead of the seasonally strong January-March period when conditions are more favourable.

Analysts see the Indian government's move to cut taxes on cement bags to 18 per cent from 28 per cent ??as a demand driver.

Including the tax cuts, average pan-India cement prices ‌dropped 6 per cent on-year in the reported ​quarter, data from brokerage Ambit Capital showed.

UltraTech Cement is set to report its results on Saturday.