 "Dalmia Bharat stock tanks 10%, hits 52-week low on weak Q4 results")
Shares of Dalmia Bharat hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,766.75, as they tanked 10 per cent on the BSE in Thursday's intra-day trade in an otherwise strong market after the company reported a weak set of numbers for the March quarter (Q4F24) with profit after tax (PAT) nearly halved to Rs 320 crore from Rs 609 crore in Q4FY23.
The stock price of cement manufacturing company fell below its previous low of Rs 1,805 touched on March 13. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.8 per cent at 74,436 at 02:42 pm.
The unexpected drop in cement prices led to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) erosion during the quarter with the EBITDA margin declining from 18.1 per cent in Q4FY23 to 15.2 per cent in Q3FY24. Income from operations, however, grew 10 per cent year-on-year at Rs 4,307 crore against Rs 3,915 crore in a year ago quarter.
The management said, cement sector has a pivotal role in India's growth story and infrastructure, housing and private capex will drive the demand growth for the next decade and beyond.
During FY24 the company delivered a volume growth of 11.8 per cent at 28.8Mt and EBITDA growth of 13.4 per cent at Rs 2,639 crore. The company will continue to work on gaining market share and improving realizations while deepening the cost leadership, the management said.
Although cement prices increased in April by Rs 10/20 across regions, the next two quarters will be muted due to elections and monsoon, according to analysts.