BUZZ-PREVIEW-India's UltraTech Cement rises ahead of Q3 results

Shares of UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS rise 2.3% to 10,939 rupees ahead of Q3 results later in the day

Analysts, on avg, expect cement maker to report ~22% y/y drop in Q3 consol profit - LSEG data

Industry-wide demand continued to remain modest due to subdued construction activity and lack of government projects - PL Capital

Adds, cement prices improved sequentially but could not be sustained across the country due to delays in projects

Cement prices have steadily picked up since Oct but remain lower than year-ago prices, analysts at Elara and Centrum say

Peer Dalmia Bharat DALB.NS posted drop in Q3 results, while ACC ACC.NS, Ambuja Cements ABUJ.NS is set to report results later this month

ULTC, ACC, ABUJ rated "buy" on avg, DALB rated "hold"- LSEG data

ULTC, ABUJ gained ~9%, ~3% in 2024, respectively, ACC and DALB lost 7% and 22%