ACC disappoints as profit margins drop
Operating margin narrows 250 basis points to 12.8%
Holcim Ltd-controlled cement firm ACC Ltd’s December quarter performance mirrored the lacklustre investment milieu. The robust growth of 24% in net sales from a year earlier to ₹ 3,098.9 crore initially masked the actual decline in cement sales, as the quarter’s figures included the merger of two of its ready-mix concrete subsidiaries. Excluding this, the company’s stand-alone revenue was only a tad higher than the year-ago period, at ₹ 2,466 crore.
ACC’s shares, which had tracked its peers such as Ambuja Cements Ltd and UltraTech Cement Ltd for nearly a year, have started falling in the last few weeks. Further, the outlook remains bleak and analysts feel that it could be a while before ACC starts to reverse the dismal profits trajectory.
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