• The company net sales decreased 1.8% y-o-y to Rs 402.7 crore in Q3FY16, but up 1.6% QoQ basis. Cement sales volumes stood at 1094 KT (thousand tonnes), lower by 0.7% on y-o-y basis but up 3.5% QoQ. Operating margin expanded by 70 bps y-o-y to 15.6%, thus, Operating profit went up 2.8% y-o-y to Rs 62.9 crore. The company has posted net profit of Rs 8.9 crore for Q3FY16 as against net loss of Rs 9.9 crore in Q3FY15.

• Gross realization stood at Rs 3681 per tonne in Q3FY16, down by 1.8% sequentially and down by 1.2% from corresponding last quarter. Freight cost was Rs 506 per tonne, down 0.1% on QoQ basis but higher by 12.3% on Y-o-Y basis, as last year's freight was lower due to receipt of higher railway freight incentive.

• Overall operating cost per tonne of the company declined by 5.1% y-o-y to Rs 2650 per tonne in Q3FY16, and down 6.3% Q-o-Q. Of the total, Cost of materials consumed stood at Rs 757 per tonne, Power & Fuel cost stood at Rs 979 per tonne, Other Expenses stood at Rs 617 per tonne, and Employee benefits expense stood at Rs 225 per tonne.

• The Company expects prices continued to remain subdued due to weak market conditions. The cement demand remained flattish in northern region during Jan-Feb 2016 as compared to December quarter.

• On the fuel mix, Petcoke usage maintained at 60% and remaining 40% is indigenous coal. On transportation, Rail: Road mix maintained at 50:50.

Projects update

• Narsingarh: Waste Heat Power Generation (WHPG) Project: Trial is in underway and expected to commissioned in Q4FY16

• Imlai: Flyash Silo Project- Silo cone construction is completed and roof erection has started and is expected to be commissioned in Q1FY17. Structural and mechanical erection is going on in full swing for silo and material handling areas.