Grasim Industries' third quarter standalone profit after tax is expected to increase 2 percent year-on-year to Rs 128 crore, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.
Total income of the Aditya Birla Group company is seen rising 5 percent to Rs 1,540 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 1,470 crore in the year-ago period.
However, operating profit may fall 14 percent year-on-year to Rs 180 crore and margin may decline 250 basis points to 11.7 percent in the quarter gone by.
Consolidated numbers of the company already discounted in the share price through UltraTech earnings. Grasim holds 60.3 percent stake in UltraTech Cement. Ultratech contributes more than 70 percent to the topline and bottomline of consolidated Grasim numbers.
Factors:
Weak viscose staple fibre (VSF) price may continue to result in muted earnings
VSF business may continue to be under pressure with prices showing little strength. VSF volumes are estimated to remain flat on year-on-year basis.
Grasim may post a 2-3 percent drop in VSF realisations as global prices remain subdued.
Key issues to watch out for are:
Outlook on VSF business and strategy to utilise upcoming capacities globally
Cement business outlook on demand and pricing, and status of capacity addition.
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