Cement Sector Demand

With industry focus shifting to volume growth in the closing quarter of the year, the likelihood of substantial price hikes in the near-term remains low due to the continued high competitive pressure

The renewed investor interest in the cement shares came on the back of reports that cement dealers have initiated price hikes since the start of December

Adani group-backed entity saw a marginal 1.2% Y-o-Y rise in its revenue to Rs 7,516 cr

Analysts expect H2 to be better and infra spending to be hiked in the Budget; benign energy prices and demand improvement are other triggers

According to ACC, its EBITDA in the quarter 'stood at Rs 16 crore largely due to steep rise in fuel cost' as against Rs 712 crore earlier

Other key players have also announced plans to significantly raise capacities

The recent price increases by India's cement companies will counter the higher energy costs: Fitch

Going ahead, raction in rural demand should continue in the back of good crop, normal monsoon, labour availability and government's welfare schemes

Strong cost controls, lower diesel, petcoke and coal prices helped

Amid the gloomy GDP print; however, what is noteworthy is that the government spending rose sharply to 15.6 per cent during the quarter, as against 8.8 per cent in 1QFY20.

It adds logistics cost would come down by 30% under the new regime