Prism Cement today reported a loss of Rs 54 crore in the third quarter ended December, 2012 due to poor demand for the building material, high power and raw material costs.
The firm, which has interests in areas like cement, ready- mix-concrete and tiles, had clocked Rs 23 crore net profit in the October-December quarter of the last fiscal, it said in a BSE filing.
"Poor demand, weak government spending on infrastructure kept prices of cement under pressure in the quarter. Coupled with higher power,freight and raw material costs, realisations have been adversely impacted," it said in a presentation to investors.
"The markets are expected to improve and stabilise during the last quarter of the financial year," it added.
Prism Cement's net sales rose to 1,175 crore over Rs 1,133 crore a year ago. At the same time, expenses went up to Rs 1,210 crore from Rs 1,065 crore during the October-December quarter of the last fiscal.
The cement, tiles and ready-mix-concrete divisions of the company recorded revenues of Rs 488 crore, 428 crore and 267 crore, respectively during the quarter.
Shares of the company were trading at Rs 44.45 apiece during the late afternoon trade on the BSE, down 3.79 per cent over their previous closing.