Stocks of major cement companies are likely to remain rangebound next week after an action-packed week where heavyweights ACC and Ambuja Cements
announced lower-than-expected earnings for Jul-Sep. There may be some stock-specific movement in shares of companies that post their Jul-Sep earnings next week.
UltraTech Cement will remain in focus as the company will announce its Jul-Sep earnings on Saturday. Higher pricing and better realisation on sales are likely to aid UltraTech Cement post a whopping 99% year-on-year rise in net profit for Jul-Sep at 5.55 bln rupees. The company's net sales is seen rising 18% on-year to 46.03 bln rupees. On Thursday, Ambuja Cements posted a 77% year-on-year rise in net profit for Jul-Sep at 3.04 bln rupees, and 20% increase in net sales at 21.68 bln rupees.
ACC also posted a 48.4% year-on-year rise in net profit for Jul-Sep at 2.49 bln rupees on Thursday. Net sales for the quarter rose 13.7% from a year ago to
24.44 bln rupees. The net profit number was lower than market estimates because of high input cost the company had to bear, and net sales number was below expectations due to lower sales volumes. We expect that UltraTech Cement may also miss its Jul-Sep earnings estimates, but most believe that the company's performance is likely to be better than its peers.
Shares of mid-size cement makers such as JK Lakshmi Cement, Prism Cement, India Cements, and Madras Cements will also be in focus as these companies
announce their Jul-Sep earnings in the coming days.
