Ambuja Cements has announced its unaudited financial results for 3Q18

The company has noted that cement volumes grew by 9% in 3Q18, backed by a favourable demand trend. Net sales increased from INR22.84 billion in 3Q17 to INR25.22 billion in 3Q18.

Ambuja Cements also reported operating EBITDA of INR3.58 billion, compared to INR3.54 billion in 3Q17. The company also announced good topline growth. However, rising costs for power, fuel, diesel, and packing bags (impacted by an increase in crude prices), combined with volatility in exchange rates, has added pressure. Internal cost saving initiatives have been focused on to contain these pressures.

In 2017, net profit after tax included an ACC dividend of INR1.03 billion. Adjusted to take this into account, PAT rose from INR1.69 billion in 3Q17, to INR1.79 billion in 3Q18.

It has also been reported that cement sales volumes grew by 10%, from INR30.54 billion in 3Q17 to INR33.64 billion in 3Q18. It is thought that this was spurred by higher demand. In addition, the company has reported that ready mix concrete sales volumes grew by 12%, which was driven by an increase in the sale of value-added products and the addition of 8 new plants across India.

In terms of outlook, the company has stated that GDP growth in the last quarter was encouraging and was backed by a good monsoon season. Good demand growth in the sector is thought to have resulted from a continued focus on GDP growth and infrastructure projects by the Indian government, as well as a strong push on the Housing for All programme and affordable housing, leading to good demand growth in the cement sector. It is expected that this will continue and even accelerate further, as the company states that it is well placed to benefit from government initiatives.

“Our continued focus on growing the topline with our well-defined marketing and commercial strategies, focusing on the retail consumer, our value-added portfolio of products and services, and selling more in our core markets, helped to deliver a good net sales growth of 10.4%,” said Ajay Kapur, Managing Director and CEO of Ambuja Cement. “Sharp cost management helped mitigate the impact of headwinds coming from oil/fuel and rupee volatility, enabling us to deliver good results.”

Ambuja Cements is one of the leading cement companies in India. It is part of the LafargeHolcim Group, which is the world leader in the building materials industry.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/indian-subcontinent/25102018/ambuja-cements-has-announced-its-unaudited-financial-results-for-3q18/