UltraTech Cement’s Profit Misses Estimate On One-Time Stamp Duty Provision

UltraTech Cement Ltd.’s quarterly profit missed analysts' estimate on higher input cost and a one-time provision for stamp duty.

It reported a net profit of Rs 487.9 crore, the Aditya Birla Group company said in a stock exchange notification. That’s below the Rs 538 crore estimated by analysts tracked by Bloomberg. The bottom line fell due to a one-time provision of Rs 226.3 crore for stamp duty. Higher depreciation and finance cost due to the acquisition of Jaypee assets also weighed on the profit.

The cement maker clocked sales of Rs 9,002.5 crore, higher than the estimated Rs 8,543 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in at Rs 1,702.6 crore. Margins were squeezed to 18.9 percent from 19.4 percent earlier.

The operational performance surpassed analyst estimates as Ultratech reported a sales volume growth of 31 percent and realisation growth of 5 percent on a year-on-year basis. Higher energy costs were offset by lower employee costs and stable freight expenses, leading to the operational efficiency.

The company said figures are not comparable since it includes earnings for the cement plants acquired from Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. and Jaypee Cement Corporation.

Shares of UltraTech Cement rose 1.1 percent to Rs 4,165 apiece after the announcement of the results. The stock has fallen 2.5 percent over the last year compared to a 16.8 percent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex Index.