Cement majors post Q4 volume growth, expect to continue momentum in FY26

Business Standard

18-05-2025

Large cement companies have reported a volume growth in the March 2025 quarter and expect enhanced performance in FY26 on better sales realisation and stable demand.
Leading listed cement firms like UltraTech, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Shree Cements, and Dalmia Bharat have retained around 7 to 7.5 per cent growth for the cement industry in FY26, following government spending on infrastructure projects and rural recovery.
However, they are cautious about the geopolitical tensions and changing trade landscape.
In the March quarter, cement makers reported gains in volumes, ranging from 3.5 to 10 per cent and an enhanced capacity utilisation on a year-on-year basis.
However, their topline numbers continue to face challenges on account of lower year-on-year sales realisation, though input costs for coal, petcoke and diesel were significantly cheaper.
The all-India average cement price was around Rs 350 per 50 kg bag in March 2025.
Overall, in FY25, cement prices declined by 7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 340/bag.
In FY24, the average prices stood at Rs 365/bag against Rs 375/bag in FY23, according to an Icra report.
The rating agency expects an improvement in operating margins for the cement companies in FY26, helped by tailwinds, as a marginal hike in cement prices and stable input costs.
The cement industry, which is witnessing consolidation where two large makers are snapping the small companies in the quest for inorganic growth, saw a lower sales realisation due to falling prices.
In Q4, UltraTech's consolidated sales volumes reached 41.02 Million Tonnes (MT), and for the entire fiscal 2024-25, it achieved the highest sales volumes of 135.83 million metric tonnes for the year, helped by acquisitions and ongoing expansions.
Q4 FY25 and April saw some improvement in prices, said the top management of the Aditya Birla group flagship firm in a post-earnings call.
"We believe that this quarter, cement demand overall for the country would have grown around 4 per cent. And in that backdrop, UltraTech has done close to 10 per cent volume growth," its CFO Atul Daga said.
Similarly, Ambuja Cements, the second-largest cement manufacturer of the country, reported a consolidated sales of 18.7 million tonnes in the March quarter, which was the "highest ever volume in a quarter" for the company.
In FY25, Ambuja Cements' total consolidated income was Rs 37,649.01 crore. The company, which also owns ACC, Sanghi Industries and Penna Industries, crossed 100 million tonnes per annum (MTPA ) capacity and with more expansions in the pipelines, it aims 118 MTPA by the end of FY26.
Bangur family promoted Shree Cement, the third-largest cement group by capacity, though it reported a decline of 14.9 per cent in its consolidated net profit to Rs 575 crore for the March quarter, its revenue rose 2.42 per cent to Rs 5,532.02 crore.
In the March quarter, Shree Cements' total sales volume was 9.84 million tonnes (MT), which, according to the company, is the "highest" quarterly volume achieved by it.
Shree Cements also reported a higher growth coming from the premium segment and expects this trend to continue in FY26.
The company expects the cement industry to achieve 6.5-7.5 per cent demand growth, fuelled by infra projects, rural recovery and real estate momentum in FY26, though external challenges in terms of geopolitical conflicts and trade barriers by key economies will persist.
Dalmia Bharat also reported an increase in sales volume by 2.8 per cent to 8.6 MT, though its revenue from operations slipped 5 per cent to Rs 4,091 crore in the March quarter on account of softening prices.
South-based India Cements Ltd (ICL), now an Aditya Birla Group firm, has reported a net profit of Rs 14.68 crore after several quarters, though its revenue from operations was down 3.11 per cent to Rs 1197.30 crore.
MP Birla Group firm Birla Corporation has reported an increase of 32.7 per cent in its net profit to Rs 256.6 crore for the March quarter, and its revenue was up 6 per cent at Rs 2,814.91 crore.
Orient Cement, now owned by Adani Group's Ambuja Cement, has reported a decline of 38.3 per cent in its net profit to Rs 42.07 crore. The revenue of the cement maker, earlier owned by the CK Birla group, declined 7.07 per cent to Rs 825.18 crore in the March quarter.
According to UltraTech, in FY25, the cement industry ended with a capacity of about 655 MT, up from 625 MT a year ago.