Prism Johnson Q4 Results: Firm posts loss hurt by lower pricing in cement business

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

materials maker Prism Johnson on Thursday posted a loss in the fourth quarter hurt by lower prices in its cement segment.

Consolidated net loss after tax stood at 305 million rupees ($3.7 million) for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a profit of 42.5 million rupees in the year-ago period.

Net sales fell marginally to 20.46 billion rupees from 20.56 billion rupees a year ago. Revenue from Prism Johnson's largest segment, cement, declined 3.3%. Cement makers usually resort to price cuts in the March-quarter to boost sales volumes, in order to clear year-end inventory backlogs.

While the cost of materials consumed fell 2.6%, this could not offset the impact of price cuts taken by the company, with the company stating that price realisation in the cement business declined 6.9% year-on year.

Shares of Prism Johnson fell 3.2% after posting results, extending its year-to-date losses to 19.8%

($1 = 83.4842 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Anisha Ajith in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)