BENGALURU (Reuters) -Wires and cables maker R R Kabel reported a lower third-quarter profit on Monday as high copper prices offset strong demand from the real estate sector.
The company’s consolidated profit fell 0.7% to 709.6 million Indian rupees ($8.5 million) in the quarter, according to an exchange filing.
R R Kabel listed its shares in September last year.
Prices of copper, a key raw material for the company, rose 5% during the third quarter, increasing R R Kabel’s total expenses by nearly 12%.
Cables and wires makers in India are benefiting from a surge in demand from the housing and construction sectors, helped by the government’s infrastructure push ahead of national polls this year.
R R Kabel’s core profit margins fell 119 basis points to 6.9% in the third quarter.
Rivals Havells and Polycab India reported higher profits in the December quarter. Finolex Cables will report its results next month.
Shares of R R Kabel, which have fallen about 6% so far this year, closed 0.8% higher ahead of the results.
($1 = 83.1230 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Shounak Dasgupta)
