Ambuja Cements, a part of Switzerland-based building material conglomerate Holcim Group, has posted a 25.56% fall in net profit at Rs 495 crore for its first quarter ended March, impacted mainly by rising fuel prices. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 665 crore for the same quarter of last financial year.

A consensus estimate of Bloomberg analysts was expecting the company to post a net profit of Rs 404.8 crore for the reporting quarter.

The cement manufacturer, in which Holcim holds a 63.1% stake, follows a January-December financial year.

“The January-March 2022 quarter was impacted by rising fuel prices, due to which Ebitda during the quarter was lower by 19%. This was partly mitigated by boosting efficiencies under our flagship ‘I CAN’ programme. Supported by the master supply agreement with ACC we further reduced our logistics costs,” Neeraj Akhoury, chief executive officer at Holcim India and managing director & chief executive officer of Ambuja Cements, said.

During the quarter under review, the company’s net sales rose to Rs 3,855 crore from Rs 3,579 crore recorded during its first quarter a year ago. Its operating cost rose to Rs 3,135 crore from Rs 2,645 crore posted in the year-ago quarter.

However, Ebitda fell to Rs 790 crore (from Rs 977 crore) and Ebitda margins sank to 20.5% (from 27.3%).

“We remain optimistic on cement demand growth, with key indicators such as GST collection, power demand and e-invoice pointing towards a recovery of the domestic economy. Government’s focus on infrastructure and housing and the production linked incentive scheme for the manufacturing sector will further provide impetus to cement demand growth,” Akhoury said.

“The ‘India Strategy 2025’ for both Ambuja and ACC is under execution. Under this plan, we will realise industry leading position in cost excellence, asset optimisation and sustainability,” he said.

ACC is another group company of Holcim, in which the Swiss conglomerate holds a 4.48% stake, while Ambuja holds a 50.05%.