Shree Cement Q2 Results: Profit Declines 25% But Beats Estimates

Shree Cement Ltd.’s second-quarter profit fell because of lower sales and higher power and other expenses. Still, the earnings beat estimates.

The cement maker’s net profit fell 25% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 577.7 crore in the three months ended September, it said in an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 496.2-crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

Key Highlights (QoQ)

• Revenue slid 7.1% to Rs 3,205.9 crore, compared with the Rs 3,242.4-crore forecast.

• Operating profit declined 16.9% to Rs 898.2 crore, against the estimated Rs 842 crore.

• Ebitda margin stood at 28% versus 29.4%. Analysts had pegged the metric at 25.9%

Power and fuel expenses as a percentage of net sales rose to 19.6% from 18.9% in the previous three months. Shares of other expenses, too, increased to 17.5% from 15.9%. These, however, were partly offset by a decline in share of freight costs from 24% to 22% of net sales.

Other Highlights (QoQ)

• Volumes down 7.5% to 6.3 million tonnes, against the estimated 6.6 MT.

• Realisation remained unchanged at Rs 5,015, against the Rs 4,912 forecast.

• Ebitda per tonne declined 4.2% to Rs 1,430, compared with the estimated Rs 1,276.

Shares of Shree Cement closed 1.44% higher before the results were announced compared with a 1.04% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50.