Like other cement companies, surging input costs have weighed on Ambuja Cements Ltd’s operating margin too. Some analysts feared a sharper erosion in margins, but had it not been for better-than-anticipated realizations, the margin picture for Ambuja Cements would have been dismal. Though Ambuja Cements’ earnings have surprised on most parameters, this kind of performance is unlikely to sustain in the coming quarters simply because of pricing pressure and elevated input costs, cautioned analysts. As a recent dealer channel check by HDFC Securities (Institutional Research) showed, cement prices declined 3.7% month-on-month in July in western India. Meanwhile, the Ambuja Cements stock surged 1.5% intraday on BSE on Monday ahead of the June quarter earnings announcement.

Source: Mint July 25, 2017 02:15 UTC