Ambuja Cements' fourth quarter profit is seen rising sharply by 50.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 165 crore but revenue may fall 7.1 percent to Rs 2,210 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.
Likely increase in profit may be due to lower other income and higher tax in base year.
Ambuja Cements has high exposure to West and North India. Sales volumes may fall 7 percent to 5.1 million tonnes from 5.5 million tonnes due to weakness in cement demand (on cash crisis) through the quarter.
Average realisations are expected to remain flat YoY.The company follows January-December as its financial year.
Operating profit may fall 14.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 280 crore and margin may contract 110 basis points to 12.7 percent due to low utilisations, realisation pressure and cost surge. Higher petcoke usage could also hurt operating performance.
EBITDA per tonne is expected to come in at approximately Rs 520.
Key issues to watch out for would be volume growth recovery and outlook; cement pricing outlook & sustainability; post demonetisation volume demand; and potential for a merger with ACC.
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