Ambuja Cements slips over 2.75%, company reports 30% decline in PAT for Q1 CY22

Cement sector continues to face margin pressure.

Ambuja Cements Ltd, an S&P 100 company and one of the leading cement manufacturers, has been in the talks and buzz on Dalal Street as it has declined by about 2.75% from its previous close of Rs 383.55. The scrip opened at Rs 384.15 and made a day’s high of Rs 385.60.

The decline in stock price can be attributed to the latest calendar year (CY 22) Q1 results. Ambuja Cement closes its accounting books on December end instead of March-end. It announced its Q1 CY22 results on 28th April. In Q1 CY22, revenue grew by 2.4%YoY to Rs 7900.04 crore from Rs 7714.81 crore in Q1 CY21. On a sequential basis, the top-line was up by 3.6%. The company’s recent commissioning at Marwar plant has boosted sales volume and growth.

PBIDT (exclusive of other income) was reported at Rs 1424.37 crore, down by 22.53% as compared to the year-ago period and the corresponding margin was reported at 18.03%, contracting by 580 basis points YoY. EBITDA of the company is facing pressure due to rising fuel and power prices. The EBITDA per ton declined significantly by 22% from Rs 1,350 in Q1 CY21 to Rs 1,056 in Q1 CY22.

PAT was reported at Rs 850.53 crore, down by 30.39% from Rs 1221.86 crore in the same quarter for the previous fiscal year. The PAT margin stood at 10.77% in Q1 CY22 contracting from 15.84% in Q1 CY21.

Ambuja Cements Limited, a part of the global conglomerate LafargeHolcim, is among the leading cement companies in India. Currently, Ambuja Cement has a cement capacity of 31.45 million tons with five integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country. The company has many firsts to its credit – a captive port with four terminals that has facilitated timely, cost-effective, cleaner shipments of bulk cement to its customers.

The stock has a 52-week high of Rs 4,986.85 and a 52-week low of Rs 1,926.