Shree Cement's UAE foray, domestic expansion make it an attractive stock

Analysts expect the acquired cement asset's margins to improve going forward; company's domestic expansions will anyways drive overall earnings

As Shree Cement surprised investors by posting better than expected operating performance for the December 2017 quarter last week, it also did the same with its plans for establishing a footprint outside India. 

The company, which has so far focused on its expansions plans in the domestic arena to fuel growth, is now acquiring about 93 per cent stake in UAE-based Union Cement Company (UCC) at an enterprise value of $305 million. Since UCC has 3.3 million tonne (MT) clinker and four MT cement capacity, the deal valuation works out to be about $76 per tonne, which analysts say is