Slowdown, earnings pressure are temporary: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) MD & CEO

'Large cement plants in India on an average use 30-40 per cent less energy per tonne of cement than the world average'

The financial year 2021-22 ended on a tough note for Dalmia Cement (Bharat) with the country’s fourth biggest cement maker reporting 5.1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in net profit in Q4 due to margin contraction and volume decline. However, company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mahendra Singhi tells Krishna Kant that the industry will be back on the growth path by the second half of FY23 and his company is on track to execute its expansion plans. Edited excerpts:

Dalmia Cement (Bharat) has actively used acquisitions to outpace industry growth. Given this, are you in the race to acquire Ambuja