NEW DELHI: Shares of Shree Cement declined over 5 per cent on Wednesday after the company said its profit more than halved in March quarter.The company reported a standalone profit of Rs 304.51 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, compared with Rs 663.03 crore reported for the same period last year.The company announced its earnings post market hours on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the scrip dropped 6.47 per cent to hit a low of Rs 18,654.The stock paired losses to close at a Rs 18,857.75, down 5.45 per cent.The company said total income during the quarter under review increased to Rs 2,834.44 crore from Rs 2,724.33 crore 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. "Accordingly, the said financial year of the company was of a nine-month period from July 1, 2015 to March 31, 2016," it said.The company said its board had recommended final dividend of Rs 24 per equity share of Rs 10 each for FY17, subject to approval of the members at the ensuing AGM.

Source: Economic Times May 17, 2017 08:36 UTC