Economic revival to boost cement demand, says ACC

Cement major ACC Ltd is expecting a modest but steady revival in the economy in 2015, leaving a positive impact on infrastructure, housing and construction sectors and rise in demand for the key building material.
The company also said clinker production unit and allied grinding facility at its Jamul plant in Durg district of Chhattisgarh are expected to be commissioned soon.
The clinkering and grinding facilities have annual capacities of 2.79 million tonne and 1.10 million tonne, respectively.
"The new plant with a grinding unit at Jamul is expected to be completed this year. In addition, a new grinding unit is also coming up at Sindri (in Jharkhand)," ACC Chairman N S Sekhsaria told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) here.

Commenting on the outlook, Sekhsaria said, "We see a modest but steady revival for the Indian economy in 2015. This will have a positive impact on infrastructure, housing and construction sectors and increase the demand for cement.
"The company will continue to focus on cost reduction, increasing the sale of premium products and implementing other customer excellence initiatives. This should deliver improved performance."
"We started the (current fiscal) year with sluggish industrial production. But a stable new Government has helped improve overall business sentiment. Inflation has slowed down and the economic environment looks better in the year ahead," he said.

The overall cement demand is estimated to grow at the rate of 6 per cent in 2015. The consumption growth may go beyond 6 per cent if investement is made in the infrastructure segment. With the gradual reduciton in fiscal deficits and consumer price index, it is expected that interest rates would gradually come down which would stimulate demand in the housing sector, Sekhsaria said.