ACC net profit falls 4% in January-March quarter

Cement maker ACC on Thursday reported a 4% decline in its consolidated net profit at Rs 226.95 crore for the March quarter.

The company, which follows January-December as its fiscal year, clocked a net profit of Rs 236.54 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing.

Total consolidated income fell by 3% to Rs 2,990.60 crore during January-March quarter of 2015-16 fiscal as against Rs 3,080.13 crore in the same quarter of 2014-15 fiscal.

The company's cement sales were higher at 6.36 million tonnes (MT) in the March quarter compared with 5.82 MT in the year-ago period.

On cement, ACC said: "With construction activity picking up especially in infrastructure and housing sectors during the quarter, the demand for cement registered a perceptible increase as compared to the slow pace witnessed in the previous year."

On outlook, the firm said it expects acceleration in the government's investment in infrastructure and other urbanisation projects, new schemes and allocations announced in the union budget, especially in roads and housing.

Softening interest rates is giving fillip to housing and the forecast of an above normal monsoon this year are all trends that portend well for heightened construction activity and in turn for an increase in demand for both cement and concrete, it added.