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UltraTech Cement shares were trading lower on Tuesday, a day after the Aditya Birla Group cement maker reported its quarterly financial results. The company's quarterly earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and margin fell short of Street estimates.

At 11:30 am, the UltraTech Cement stock was down 2.2 percent at Rs 7,696.8 apiece on BSE, having declined as much as 2.6 percent earlier in the day.

During market hours on Monday, UltraTech reported a net profit of Rs 1,710 crore for the October-December period, up 8 percent on a year-on-year basis. Its revenue increased 5 percent to Rs 12,985 crore.

Analysts in a CNBC-TV18 poll had expected the company to report a net profit of Rs 1,163 crore over revenue of Rs 12,625 crore.

UltraTech's EBITDA was down 25 percent at Rs 2,419 crore. Its EBITDA margin came down to 18 percent from 25.3 percent in the year-ago period.

Analysts had predicted the company's EBITDA at Rs 2,480 crore and EBITDA margin at 19.6 percent.

However, most brokerages remained positive on the cement manufacturer after its earnings announcement.

What brokerages say

Credit Suisse has maintained an 'outperform' rating on UltraTech with a target price of Rs 9,250 apiece. The brokerage has lowered its earnings estimate for the company for FY22 by 20 percent, and raised those for FY23 and FY24 by 9 percent and 6 percent respectively.

Citi has retained a 'buy' call on the cement maker with a target price of Rs 9,100. Cement companies are witnessing price hikes and the cost pressure has likely peaked in the third quarter of FY22, according to the brokerage.

Goldman Sachs has kept a 'buy' call on UltraTech with a target price of Rs 9,000. The company's Q3 earnings were in line with estimates, with a mixed near-term outlook, the brokerage said. UltraTech remains its top pick in the sector given the company's capacity expansion plans.

Jefferies has maintained a 'hold' rating on UltraTech with a target price of Rs 8,100. The brokerage lowered its FY22-FY24 EBITDA estimates for the company by 7-9 percent to reflect cost pressure.

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(Edited by : Sandeep Singh)

First Published:Jan 18, 2022 11:50 AM IST