Shares of Shree Cement declined over five per cent on Wednesday after the company said its profits more than halved in March quarter. The company reported a standalone profit of INR304.5bn (US$4.73bn) for the fourth quarter ended 31 March, compared with INR663bn, reported for the same period last year, said the Economic Times.

The company said total income during the quarter under review increased to INR2834bn from INR2724bn in the January-March quarter of 2015-16.

The earnings are not comparable, the company insisted, as they adopted a change in accounting year from 2015-16.