Shree Cement, India's third-largest cement manufacturer by market capitalisation announced a fourth-quarter profit that exceeded, attributing it to increased volumes driven by lower cement prices. Typically, cement companies witness a surge in volumes in the March quarter as they reduce prices to clear year-end inventory backlogs. Analysts had anticipated that reduced fuel costs would partially offset the decline in prices. Shree Cement's profit for the quarter ending March 31 reached Rs 6.62 billion, surpassing street forecasts of Rs 6.20 billion, as per LSEG data. This marked a significant increase from the Rs 5.46 billion profit reported a year earlier. The company experienced an 8% growth in total sales volumes to 9.53 million tonnes during the quarter, leading to a 6.6% increase in revenue to Rs 51.01 billion. Similarly, peers such as UltraTech Cement, ACC, and Dalmia Bharat also reported better-than-expected quarterly profits, buoyed by volume expansion. Shree Cement proposed a final dividend of Rs 55 per share. Despite this positive performance, Shree Cement's shares have declined by approximately 9.17% year-to-date, contrasting with a 15.23% increase in the Nifty infrastructure index. The on-going general elections in India are anticipated to dampen cement demand in the first quarter of the fiscal year as infrastructure and real estate firms reduce construction activity. (Source: ET infra)