India’s ACC (LafargeHolcim) saw its consolidated net profit rise 44.7 per cent YoY to INR3.03bn (US$42.25m) in the 3Q19, on the back of a three per cent climb in net sales to INR34.64bn.

Operating EBITDA was up 26 per cent YoY to INR5.57bn from INR4.44bn. However, consolidated cement sales volumes fell two per cent to 6.44Mt from 6.54Mt in the 3Q18.

In the 9M19 net profit increased 40 per cent YoY to INR11.04bn, compared with INR7.88bn in the year-ago period. Net sales advanced six per cent to INR113.73bn, while cement sales showed a modest one per cent growth to 21.1Mt. Operating EBITDA was also up 20 per cent to INR18.72bn in the first nine months of 2019.

"ACC continues to deliver its profitable growth strategy with strong EBITDA and net profit growth. Our new product offerings, particularly in premium segments along with growth in ready mix volumes supported in delivering higher net sales. We continue to deliver significant operational efficiencies which resulted in reduction of our fixed and variable costs. ACC's capacity expansion strategy is under execution in attractive markets. We remain confident that cement demand growth will strengthen in the coming months," said Neeraj Akhoury, CEO of ACC.