Unsure when note ban situation will normalise: Panyam Cements

On the back of strong third quarter earnings, S Sreedhar Reddy, Managing Director of Panyam Cements said cost control and the decline in power and coal consumption had helped the Andhra Pradesh-headquartered company increase its profits. 

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Reddy said the company had focused on areas where realisations were higher and cut down where realisations were lower. He added the financial costs had risen because of increased capital expenditure.

In its earnings declared on Monday, Panyam Cement's profit after tax for the third quarter went up 526% to Rs 5.1 crore year-on-year, while its operating profit rose 150% to Rs 9.80 crore YoY.

Reddy said he expected fourth quarter sales volumes to increase by 5-10 percent over Q3, which he said had been affected by the November note ban. He added, however, that he could not predict how long it would take for things to get normal again post demonetisation.