Shares of Ambuja Cements jumped 3.3 percent on Wednesday, February 08, after the Adani Group company reported a 13.2 percent increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹487.88 crore for the December quarter of 2022-23.
The company had clocked a net profit of ₹430.97 crore in the same quarter a year ago, Ambuja Cements informed through an official filing.
During Wednesday’s trade, the stock opened at a price of Rs. 393.65 per share against the previous close of Rs. 384.65 per share and grew further during the early trading session to touch an intraday high of Rs. 397.65. However, it failed to hold onto this rally and was trading at ₹387.20, up by 0.83 percent, at 11:50 a.m. on the NSE.
The stock touched a 52-week high of Rs. 598 on December 09, 2022 and a 52-week low of Rs. 274 on March 08, 2022, indicating that at the current level, the stock is trading over 41 percent above its 52-week low and 35 percent below its 52-week high.
The stock has declined by over 26 percent in the last six months. However, in the past one year, it has shown a marginal increase of 2 percent. Furthermore, the stock has gained almost 50 percent in the last five years.
On Tuesday, the company reported through an official filing that its revenue from operations rose 3.69 percent to ₹7,906.74 crore as compared to ₹7,625.28 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The total expenses were at ₹7,278.89 crore, up 6.01 per cent from ₹6,865.61 crore a year ago.
The company's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) fell 6% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹1,138 crore during the quarter under review. Meanwhile, EBITDA margins too shrank to 14.6%, compared with 16.2% a year ago.
It is crucial to note that the consolidated results of Ambuja Cements include the financial performance of its step-down firm ACC Ltd, in which it owns around 51 percent stake.
On a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements reported an increase of 45.95 percent in its net profit to ₹368.99 crore as against ₹252.81 crore in the year-ago quarter. Its standalone revenue from operations increased 10.39 per cent to ₹4,128.52 crore, as against ₹3,739.92 crore earlier.
"The Company has maintained a healthy top line and leadership position in its core markets with a stronger Ambuja & ACC product portfolio. EBITDA margins expanded due to relentless focus on reduction in fuel and logistics costs by leveraging synergies with Group Companies," said Ajay Kapur, CEO of the company.
“Business initiatives are expected to further bring down operating cost, reduce clinker factor, reduce logistics cost, improve sales of blended cement and expand EBITDA margin," he added.
According to a MintGenie poll, 38 analysts on an average have a ‘HOLD’ call on the stock.
