Ambuja Cements reports 78% rise in profit, misses estimates

Cement maker Ambuja Cements reported higher profits in the July-September quarter, coming off a low base and helped by higher sales, but missed market estimates.

Ambuja, controlled by Switzerland's Holcim, the world's second-largest cement producer, reported a 78 percent increase in net profit to 3.04 billion rupees for the July-September quarter from 1.71 billion rupees in the same period a year ago.

Net sales at India's third-largest cement maker were up 20 percent at 21.68 billion rupees over the same period.

Analysts expected profits of 3.34 billion rupees on revenue of 21.94 billion rupees, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.