India's Prism Johnson swings to Q1 profit on strong cement demand

BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian building materials maker Prism Johnson swung to a profit in the first quarter on the back of strong demand for cement and declining input costs.

Consolidated profit after tax was 207.6 million rupees ($2.5 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with a loss of 160.1 million rupees a year earlier.

Demand for cement has been rising following increased government spending on infrastructure projects, analysts say.

Prism's revenue from the cement segment, which accounts for more than half of its total revenue, rose over 18%.

Meanwhile, raw material costs declined over 6%, while its power and fuel expenses fell nearly 7%.

Some cement makers ACC and Ultratech Cement reported an increase in profit for April-June, while others like Dalmia Bharat and Orient Cement saw a profit decline on mounting input costs.

Prism Johnson's net sales rose nearly 7% to 19.04 billion rupees.

($1 = 82.5275 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Dhanya Ann Thoppil)