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%