India's Shree Cement Q2 profit sinks 67% as fuel expenses jump
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India's Shree Cement Ltd on Friday reported a 67.2% slump in second quarter profit after fuel costs surged.
Standalone net profit for the quarter-ended Sept. 30 came in at 1.90 billion Indian rupees ($23.12 million), compared with 5.78 billion rupees a year ago, it said in an exchange filing.
Analysts on average had expected a profit of 2.64 billion rupees, according to Refinitiv data.
Revenue rose 17.9% to 37.81 billion rupees.
Total expenses jumped 41.1% to 36.88 bln rupee as fuel costs increased amid a surge in global oil prices.
Quarterly power and fuel expenses, the main cost incurred by cement makers, nearly doubled to 12.27 billion rupees.
India is the second largest cement producer in the world, accounting for more than 7% of the global installed capacity, according to government data.
The industry is betting on India's ambitious investment plan to create roads, residential buildings and commercial complexes to drive up the demand for cement.
Urbanisation and demand for housing will push India's cement industry to add 80-100 million tonnes of capacity by 2025, Kumar Mangalam Birla, the billionaire chairman of Aditya Birla Group, which owns industry leader UltraTech Cement Ltd, said in July.
($1 = 82.1680 Indian rupees)
