Higher prices, lower costs to cushion Cement firms in June quarter

Virus-led disruption, availability of labour major concerns

Shares of cement manufacturers UltraTech Cement, ACC, Ambuja Cements, and Shree Cement have rebounded 16-25 per cent since their May lows.

While low demand during the lockdown weighed on investor sentiment, a better-than-expected recovery in the same, following the unlocking of economy, along with firm realisations, has again revived sentiment.

Channel checks by analysts such as Binod Modi of Reliance Securities suggest that though demand in June was at 60-70 per cent of normal levels, it had grown 10-50 per cent over May.
 

Realisations, helped by production and pricing discipline, improved in April and May. Interestingly, though June has historically seen corrections