Ambuja Cements Q3 Results: Stock falls over 4% after weak operating performance

Shares of Ambuja Cements Ltd. fell over 4.5% on Friday, January 30, after its operating performance for the December quarter turned out to be weak.

The company reported a revenue of ₹10,277 crore, which were marginally higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹10,172 crore. Sales volumes for the quarter were also higher by 17% from last year at 18.9 million tonnes, which is the highest ever in a quarter for the company.

However, Ambuja's Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter declined by 21% from the year-ago period to ₹1,353 crore. A CNBC-TV18 poll had projected a figure of ₹1,712 crore.

EBITDA margin also narrowed by 500 basis points from last year to 13.2% from 18.2%, also turning out to be lower than the CNBC-TV18 poll of 16.9%.

Higher power and fuel costs, and freight and forwarding expenses weighed on the company's operating performance. Power and fuel costs went up by 26% from last year, while freight and forwarding expenses increased 16% from the year-ago period.

EBITDA per tonne for the quarter stood at ₹718, lower than the ₹1,059 that was reported in the same quarter last year.

The company stated that its 2.4 MTPA Marwar Grinding Unit has been successfully operationalized, taking the overall cement capacity to 109 MTPA. By March 2026, the company intends to take that figure to 115 MTPA.

Shares of Ambuja Cements are now trading 4.6% lower after the results announcement at ₹511.35. The stock has not seen any significant movement in the last 12 months.