Gujarat Ambuja Cements LtdIndia’s third-biggest cement maker by capacity, said quarterly profit surged as it benefitted from a boom in export prices.
Gujarat Ambuja, also the nation’s top cement exporter, said standalone net profit in the first fiscal quarter ended September rose more than six-fold to INR904.6m (US$19.8m).
Net sales climbed 58 per cent to INR5.99bn.
A Reuters poll had forecast a 427 per cent jump in the past quarter’s net profit to a median INR955m.
Gujarat Ambuja, which exports about 15 per cent of its output, benefitted from higher cement prices in the Middle East, as rising crude oil prices fuelled a construction boom.
On average, global cement prices in the past quarter were US$40/t, up nearly 50 per cent from a year ago period.
Gujarat Ambuja sold 3.3Mt of cement during July-September, up 16.4 per cent from the year ago period.
