India's R R Kabel profit slips as higher costs weigh

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's wires and cables maker R R Kabel reported a third-quarter profit slide on Monday, as higher costs dented the impact of strong demand from the real estate sector.

The company's consolidated profit slipped 0.7% to 709.6 million rupees ($8.5 million) in the quarter ended December, according to an exchange filing.

The profit drop comes after R R Kabel's bottomline more-than-doubled in the second quarter. The company listed its shares in September 2023.

A 5% year-on-year rise in copper prices, a key raw material, spiked total expenses by nearly 12%, eclipsing a 10% rise in revenue from operations.

India's cables and wires makers are benefitting from a demand surge in housing and construction sectors, helped by the government's infrastructure push ahead of national polls this year.

Rivals Havells and Polycab India have posted 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)