Ambuja Cements Reports 37% Drop in Profit as Weak Volumes and Higher Costs Weigh

Ambuja Cements Reports 37% Drop in Profit as Weak Volumes and Higher Costs Weigh

July 28 (Reuters) – India’s Ambuja Cements reported about 37% drop in ​first-quarter profit on Tuesday, pressured by ‌sluggish sales volumes and higher costs due to the Middle East war.

The weak results ​underscore pressure on the cement industry, ​where higher petcoke and freight costs ⁠have eaten into margins, while competition ​has limited producers’ ability to raise ​prices.

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“The impact of peak fuel cost inflation is expected to coincide with the seasonally weaker ​Q2, potentially impacting industry profitability in ​the near term” Ambuja said.

India’s No. 2 cement ‌maker’s ⁠by capacity saw a slower volume growth with cement sales volumes falling to 17.1 million metric tons from 18.4 ​million tones ​from year ⁠ago. Brokerage Centrum projection of 17.9 million tons for the ​reported quarter.

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The Adani Group-owned cement ​maker ⁠reported a profit after tax of 5.04 billion rupees ($52.59 million) for the quarter ⁠ended ​June 30, up from ​7.97 billion rupees a year earlier.

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Reuters