According to the management, the demand and realisation were under pressure in western markets owing to heavy floods while Northern markets show strength.
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May find it tough to grow volumes, given capacity limits; benefit from commissioning of clinker unit only in 2021
Muted volume growth expectations keep analysts cautious on CY19 profit growth
Better utilisation and good demand enabled Ambuja's cement volumes grow 9% year-on-year (YoY) to 5.46 million tonnes (MT) in the quarter, ahead of estimates
Rising volumes and some improvement in realisation fail to mitigate cost pressures
The stock rallied 6% at Rs 222 on the BSE after the company reported a better-than-expected a 27% year on year growth in standalone net profit at Rs 4.99 billion in June quarter.
In past one week, the stock declined 7% after the company reported lower than expected 3% YoY volume growth in March quarter.
Amid rising costs and limited volume growth outlook, realisation improvement is crucial for profit
Ambuja Cements was trading 4% lower at Rs 253, while ACC down 2% at Rs 1,625 on the BSE at 10:23 am.
Analysts attribute the strong volumes to a better demand scenario in the eastern and northern markets and Gujarat
Higher volumes and realisations helped Ambuja post sales of Rs 2,823 cr, a YoY increase of 11.7%
Recently secured long-term supplies of limestone bode well for the firm
Future volume growth, profitability improvement in rising costs environment key to instil confidence
Ambuja Cements' performance for the quarter ending March 2017 was no different from its subsidiary, ACC. While sales volumes improved, the pressure of rising costs was well evident. Cement volumes at 6.02 million tonne (MT), up three per cent year-on-year despite a high base, provided some respite and were marginally ahead of expectations. Since December quarter had seen impact of note ban and that volumes had been shrinking year-on-year since June quarter, the sales volumes growth of 20 per cent sequentially (as the note ban impact subsided), however, isn't a surprise. Per tonne realisations at Rs 4,146 were up 2.4 per cent year-on-year but lower by 3.9 per cent sequentially. Consequently, revenues at Rs 2,533 crore grew 5.3 per cent year-on-year and 15.3 per cent sequentially, and came largely in line with Bloomberg consensus estimates of Rs 2,511 crore. However, rising costs have impacted operating performance more than expected. The company said that production costs were ...
Return on shareholders' funds fell to a two-decade low in 2016 and may remain muted
Reacting to the development, the stock of Ambuja Cements fell as much as 3% to Rs 232 on the NSE
Ambuja Cements, part of the world's cement giant LafargeHolcim, has posted a rise of 60 per cent in its net profit for the quarter ended December, 2016 to Rs 160 crore compared with Rs 110 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. Higher profitability was on the back of lower tax charges and lower operating costs due to significant reduction in energy costs of 9 per cent. Ambuja increased usage of pet coke during the October-December quarter to 65 per cent against 50 per cent in the previous year.The company could not eschew the impact of demonetisation. It's net sales dipped 6.75 per cent to Rs 2,197 crore during the quarter against Rs 2,356 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Further, the company could sell only 5 million tonnes of cement during the quarter - a decline of 8.75 per cent."The short term decline in sales was mainly felt in the last quarter when volumes were down by 9 per cent as a result of cash shortages in the trade segment where Ambuja has a significant .
ACC also rose over 5% to Rs 1,500 on the merger reports