Grasim Q3 net profit rises 32%, beats forecast

Industries Ltd, India’s top cement group, said on Friday its quarterly profit jumped 32 per cent, beating expectations as a construction boom in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy drove up prices.

Grasim, an Aditya Birla group company, said net profit in the fiscal third-quarter ended December 31 rose to Rs 2.17bn (US$50m), compared with a Reuters poll estimate of Rs 2.08bn.

It said net sales climbed 17 per cent to Rs 15.6bn.

Cement prices in the past quarter were about eight per cent higher from a year earlier, while Grasim’s shipments rose right per cent to 3.1Mt.