Nirmal Bang retains 'buy' on JK Lakshmi Cement

Nirmal Bang has maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on JK Lakshmi Cement with a target price of Rs 203. “KCL’s 3QFY13 operating performance was better than our as well as Bloomberg consensus estimates, with EBITDA at Rs 982 million (up 4.2% yoy) versus our estimate of Rs 884 million, primarily led by higher realisation versus our estimate. Consequently, net profit at Rs 412 million (down 16.2% yoy) was above our estimate of Rs 312 million and Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 390 million. We have revised our FY13E earnings downward by 10% to factor in lower sales volume growth in 4QFY13E. We continue to believe that cement demand will improve in the coming months, leading to a rise in cement prices and overall performance of the company,” the brokerage said.