Indian producers may see a 20% rise in March quarter net

Indian producers may see a 20% rise in March quarter net
19 April 2010


Robust sales and a sharp spike in prices could see Indian producers posting at least a 20 per cent higher profits for the quarter ended March 2010, compared to the December quarter.

Shree Cement chairman and managing director, H Bangur, said the expected better show in the March quarter could be attributed to healthy demand in the past six months due to a revival in the housing sector and the government’s increased focus on infrastructure.

“Our estimates suggest that the domestic companies’ net profit may go up by 20-25 per cent in the March quarter,” said Rupesh Sankhe, cement analyst at Angel Securities in Mumbai.

However, the year ended March 2010 will be a mixed bag for cement companies Companies in the northern and eastern India are likely to record a flat growth, while in those in south India may see a 15 per cent drop in bottomline as they could not pass on the spiraling rise in raw material costs to end-users, said Mr Sankhe. Political instability also affected sales in the south.
Published under Cement News