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ACC shares jumped on Wednesday, a day after the cement market's quarterly earnings exceeded Street estimates. The ACC stock rose by Rs 149.5 or 7.3 percent to settle at Rs 2,207.4 apiece on BSE, having risen to as high as Rs Rs 2,219.9 apiece during the session.

The company's topline and bottomline for the January-March period were ahead of Street estimates.

Post-market hours on Tuesday, ACC reported a 29.6 percent year-on-year reduction in net profit to Rs 396.3 crore for the January-March period.

Its quarterly revenue, however, increased 3.1 percent to Rs 4,426.5 crore, according to a regulatory filing.

Wednesday's gain turned ACC shares positive in the past one month, up 2.6 percent. The benchmark Nifty50 remained flat during this period.

Here's what brokerages make of the cement maker's quarterly numbers:

Goldman Sachs said ACC's earnings beat was driven by the company's cost control measures. However, the brokerage expects cost pressure in the second and third quarters of 2022 to keep the cement company's profitability in check.

It expects the company's growth in volume and EBITDA to likely lag peers.

Macquarie is of the view that news flow related to Holcim’s plans to sell a stake in its India business is key going forward. The brokerage believes ACC is well placed on growth, cost focus and valuation fronts.

According to Citi, elevated coal costs should likely persist and cement prices are showing some strength. The brokerage sees the pace of price acceleration slowing in the current financial year given supply expectations.

BofA Securities said ACC's quarterly numbers were in line with estimates, with cost containment measures partly offsetting the increase in input cost.

It said there is a recovery in EBITDA per tonne but it is likely to dip again.

Jefferies said the company's earnings were in line with estimates. The brokerage lowered its estimate for the company in 2023 by seven percent.

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(Edited by : Akanksha Upadhyay)

First Published:Apr 20, 2022 12:36 PM IST