Ambuja Cements Q3 earnings: Net profit rises 242%, revenue at Rs 8,415 crore

Ambuja Cements Ltd on Wednesday reported a 242% rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 2024. Profit climbed to Rs 1,758 crore in the last quarter against Rs 514 crore in the December 2023 quarter. On a consolidated basis, the Adani Group company's net profit rose 140.14% to Rs 2,620 crore in Q3 against Rs 1,091 crore in the December 2023 quarter. On a sequential basis, consolidated profit climbed 454% from Rs 473 crore in the September 2024 quarter. 

Consolidated revenue from operations rose 4.5% to Rs 8,415 crore in Q3 from Rs 8,052 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. 

On a sequential basis, consoldiated revenue rose 16% from Rs 7,268 croore in the September 2023 quarter. 

Volume growth came at 17% year-on-year (YoY) reaching 16.5 million tonnes, which the company said was its highest-ever cement sales volume in a quarter.

"The significant boost in efficiencies, enhanced market presence, and cost leadership, aligned with Group synergies, have been the growth drivers for the cement business. Efficiency investments and digitization initiatives have started to yield results," a company statement said.

However, EBITDA slipped to 18.4% in Q3 from 21.3% in the December 2023 quarter. 

Ambuja Cements net worth rose by Rs 2,619 crore during the quarter and stands at Rs 62,535 crore. The company remains debt-free and continues to maintain the Crisil AAA (stable) / Crisil A1+ rating.

The cash and cash equivalents stood at Rs 8,755 crore at the end of December 2024 quarter, which is 14% of the net worth. 

Earnings per share (EPS) climed to Rs 7.4 in the last quarter agaisn Rs 2.41 in the December 2023 quarter. 

Ajay Kapur, Whole Time Director & CEO of Ambuja Cements Limited, said "We are pleased to report a quarter of sustainable performance, aligned with our growth plan. With focus on innovation, digitisation, customer satisfaction, and ESG, our vision drives our expansion into new geographies. Our strategic acquisitions have significantly increased our capacity and market presence. This will be dove-tailed with our ongoing expansion projects, delivering exceptional value for our stakeholders and propelling us towards achieving over 104 MTPA capacity by Q4 FY’25 and 118 MTPA by FY 26."

Ambuja Cements gave out a positive outlook for its business and said it would continue to grow at a faster speed than the industry.

"Improved consumption demand in housing and infrastructure segments, and increased government spending are poised to reverse the tepid 1.5-2% cement demand growth during H1 FY’25. This demand is expected to grow by 4-5% in FY’25, further supported by the pro-infra and housing Budget 2025. Ambuja Cements is well-positioned to benefit from these trends. The anticipated rebound in demand, supported by government initiatives, is likely to enhance cement sector performance in the coming quarters," said Ambuja Cements.

The earnings were announced during market hours today. Shares of Ambuja Cements ended 3.78% lower at Rs 522.20 on Wednesday against the previous close of Rs 542.70 on BSE. Market cap of the firm stood at Rs 1.28 lakh crore.