Ambuja Cements: Higher costs offset gains from rising volumes

Volume growth, profitability improvement in a rising cost environment are key to instil confidence

Ambuja Cements’ performance for the quarter ending March was no different from its subsidiary, ACC. While sales volumes improved, the pressure of rising costs was evident.
 
Cement volumes at 6.02 million tonnes (mt), up three per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) despite a high base provided some respite and were marginally ahead of expectations. Since the December quarter had seen the impact of the note ban and as volumes had been shrinking y-o-y since the June quarter, the sales volumes growth of 20 per cent sequentially (as the note ban impact subsided), however, wasn’t a surprise.
 
Per tonne realisations at