Shares of Ambuja Cements were trading lower in early trade on Friday despite the company posting a 21.51 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit at Rs 831.75 crore for the second quarter ended June 30. It had clocked a net profit of Rs 684.46 crore in the same quarter last year.
The scrip was trading 1.56 per cent down at Rs 211.40 at around 9.30 am (IST), while BSE Sensex was down 18 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 37,813 at around the same time. Its net sales during the period under review rose 3.41 per cent to Rs 7,068.79 crore as against Rs 6,835.12 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal. The company follows January-December financial year. Japanese brokerage firm Nomura maintained ‘Neutral’ view on Ambuja Cement with a target price of Rs 240.
“Q2 volume is a miss but prices are stronger,” the brokerage house said.
On the other hand, Reliance Securities said that while Ambuja Cements continued to underperform in terms of its volume and market share, a substantial improvement in realisation aided its operational performance.
“Further, given steady realisation so far in its key markets, we believe its strong operational performance to sustain in ensuing period too.
We have ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 242,” Reliance Securities said.