Ambuja Cements has seen a 7% increase in net profit

India’s Ambuja Cements has seen a 6.8 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to INR7.43bn (US$97.5m) for the first quarter of 2020, compared to INR6.95bn in the year-ago period.

However, revenue from operations declined 8.5 per cent YoY to INR62.5bn in the 1Q20, following a decline in volumes due to the country’s lockdown status.

On a standalone basis, Ambuja Cements saw a 6.5 per cent YoY fall in first-quarter net profit to INR3.99bn from INR4.27bn. Revenue from operations was also down 3.4 per cent YoY to INR28.28bn, against INR29.28bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

"'Till February, we had recorded a healthy volume growth, which was impacted in March 2020 due to the nationwide lockdown. I firmly believe that we will emerge stronger from this crisis with our focus on business fundamentals and measures put in place to keep our people healthy and safe," said Neeraj Akhoury, managing director and CEO.

Ambuja Cements' sales volume declined 9.6 per cent to 5.76Mt from 6.37Mt in the first quarter of 2019.