India Cements Ltd's (ICL) reported performance was impressive and ahead of our estimates as operating income (adjusted for reversal of excess DMF provisioning of Rs200mn) witnessed a growth of ~16% yoy and ~7% qoq to Rs2.08bn, above our estimate of Rs1.70bn. A substantial reduction in variable costs has been prime reason for the variance. Sales volume, however, remained tepid at 2.17mnT (down ~8% yoy) owing to persistent weak demand in its key markets. Cement operating cost/tonne declined by ~3% yoy and ~6% qoq on account of: a) write-back of excess DMF provisioning of Rs200mn (for Jan-June'15), b) reduction in inward...