After a gap of three months, the domestic cement industry is likely to come back to a double-digit growth trend in December, on the back of robust demand as the peak construction period sets in.
Except the Holcim group companies, ACC and Ambuja Cements, the other big producers registered a double-digit growth in sales, which was as high as 60 per cent in cases like Jaiprakash Associates, a north-based cement maker.
Despite a rise in cement prices in December, demand failed to lose momentum. The prices of the building material scaled up by as much as Rs 10 for a 50-kg bag.
The Aditya Birla Group sold 10.5 per cent more cement in December, at 3.29 million tonnes. The group’s companies are Samruddhi Cement (hived off entity from Grasim Industries) and UltraTech Cement.
| CONCRETE GROWTH December despatches of top cement makers | ||
| Company | Despatches (In mn tonnes) | Growth % (y-o-y) |
| Aditya Birla Group* | 3.29 | 10.46 |
| Shree Cement | 0.86 | 22.40 |
| Jaiprakash Associates | 1.05 | 60.07 |
| JK Lakshmi | 0.45 | 28 |
| Dalmia Cement | 0.34 | 37.40 |
| Ambuja Cements | 1.73 | 4.03 |
| ACC | 1.88 | -1.05 |
| Source: Companies; *comprises UltraTech and Samruddhi | ||
The other two north majors, Shree Cement and JK Lakshmi Cement, registered a rise of 22 per cent and 28 per cent in their volume sales, respectively. Dalmia Cement managed a rise of 37.4 per cent in its volumes. ACC and Ambuja continued to face capacity constraints, resulting in low growth in production and despatches.
Better than expected GDP numbers have boosted the confidence of cement makers. They opined that additional capacities will be absorbed on the back of rise in demand.
Hari Mohan Bangur, chairman and managing director of Shree Cement, said: “The overall demand in the country was robust in December. The north, in particular, witnessed a rise of 15 per cent. We expect December should see growth back in double digits.”Industry analysts say the primary reason for good demand continued to be the rising construction and infrastructure activities in the north, central and eastern parts of the country. In comparison, southern and western markets are witnessing less demand, they add.
