Mumbai, Jan 25 (IANS): Cement major ACC on Thursday reported a nearly five-fold surge in its net profit to Rs 527 crore for the October-December quarter of the current financial year on the back of a strong demand for construction materials in the economy.

The revenue of the Adani Group company rose 8.4% to Rs 4918.3 crore from Rs 4536.9 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

The demand for cement in India has picked up at a robust pace as the government has been making huge investments in big ticket infrastructure projects to keep India on track as the world’s fastest growing economy. These mammoth projects in the highway, port and railway segments have generated a strong demand for cement and steel which is having a multiplier effect on growth. There has also been an uptick in the housing sector which has further strengthened the demand for cement.

The company said the opportunity to buy petcoke at lower prices will help to further bring down fuel costs in the coming quarters which will further boost the bottomline.

Shares of ACC rose 10% to touch a 52-week high after the results were declared.