Cement demand to grow 6-7.5% in FY26 amid recovery in infrastructure and housing: Report
The report highlighted that with consolidation-led discipline taking hold and strong momentum in infrastructure and housing sectors, the industry is entering a more stable and profitable phase.
It said, 'With consolidation-led discipline settling in and momentum building in infrastructure and housing, industry demand is expected to grow by 6-7.5 per cent in FY26'.
The report noted that the sector exited FY25 on a stronger footing. The last quarter of the previous financial year saw a visible recovery in both demand and pricing after a slow first half. Increased government capital expenditure towards the end of FY25 helped revive construction activity in major markets.
The report said 'Cement volume for companies under our coverage grew by 11 per cent after a slow H1 due to an upswing in commercial activity and a ramp-up in government execution. In FY25, the cement industry ended with a capacity of about 655 MTPA (+4.8 per cent YoY).
This also supported price hikes, which were partially absorbed in regions like the East and North.
In May 2025, the report added that the cement companies attempted price hikes across different regions, ranging from Rs 5 to Rs 10 per bag.
However, due to weak demand in several areas, the absorption of these hikes remained limited. Regional factors such as early monsoons and heat waves played a key role in affecting demand.
In the East, demand dropped sharply due to early monsoons, but prices still rose by Rs 46 per bag. The South faced flat demand conditions as heat waves impacted construction activities.
As a result, price hikes in the region are expected to be postponed to the second quarter of FY26, since the fourth quarter remained muted.
Meanwhile, the report mentioned that central India recorded a modest hike of Rs 2 per bag, and Northern markets saw better traction, with prices increasing by Rs 20-30 per bag.
Despite these regional challenges, the average cement price across India rose 1.6 per cent month-on-month in May 2025, reaching Rs 367 per bag.
The industry also benefited from a favourable cost environment and improving capacity utilisation, further supporting a positive outlook for FY26. (ANI)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
8 minutes ago
- Time of India
S&P Upgrade to Boost Foreign Flows, Lower Funding Costs for Indian Companies: Vishal Goenka
India's S&P rating upgrade to BBB with Stable Outlook is set to lower funding costs for corporates and attract stronger foreign inflows into bonds, says Vishal Goenka of He sees improved risk-adjusted returns, enhanced global positioning, and fresh opportunities for fixed-income investors. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) Could this rating upgrade lead to a re-rating of Indian corporate bonds, and if so, which segments or sectors are likely to benefit the most? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) What changes can fixed-income investors expect in foreign capital flows into India's debt market after this upgrade? Q) After the status quo policy from the RBI, do you see further rate cuts in the rest of FY26 and why? Q) How should investors position themselves in the fixed income portfolio amid rate cuts and geopolitical concerns? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) If someone is a risk-averse investor and wants to deploy ₹10,00,000 – what would you recommend? Please give a percentage split. Q) How can investors determine the right balance between bonds, equities and hybrid instruments amid changing market dynamics? Q) Can corporate bonds fund a ₹50,000 per month 'pension'? What corpus is needed? The recent upgrade of India's sovereign rating by S&P to BBB with a Stable Outlook is poised to be a game-changer for the country's corporate bond market, according to Vishal Goenka , Co-Founder of believes the move will not only unlock lower international funding costs for large Indian corporates—whose ratings are often capped by the sovereign level—but also attract greater foreign portfolio inflows into the bond government bond yields already rallying on the news, Goenka sees India securing a stronger position in the global emerging market investment landscape, offering better risk-adjusted returns and fresh opportunities for fixed income investors. Edited Excerpts –'International country ratings cap ratings of Large Indian corporates. Now, as the sovereign ratings are upgraded, the cost of international funding for Indian companies will go down. This will sequentially lead to lower funding costs for companies in general'Since your questions circle around the rating upgrade, I'm sharing Vishal's comment on the S&P upgrade that we shared earlier yesterday as well:India was just upgraded by S&P to BBB with a Stable Outlook. The Government Bond market is rallying on this news, as this would encourage more foreign and FPI inflows into the bond markets.A higher Credit Rating systematically gets more investments into the country as risk-adjusted returns are better. We see India remaining in the global spotlight for Emerging Market favourable asset allocation and bond yields to fall in the short kept the repo rate at 5.50% in August. July CPI was at 1.55%, a multi-year low. From here, policy is likely to pause and track the direction and timing of any move will also be shaped by US tariffs outcome and global policy, especially by the US Fed in think a further 25 bps is definitely on the cards for FY 26 and that we remain in the multi-year lower or stable interest rate allocation to fixed income in the overall portfolio should be higher now, given the equity volatility and the ongoing uncertain geopolitical fixed income, staying in the short end of the curve and investing in 2-3 year maturity higher yield corporate bonds will provide regular and consistent returns ranging from 8-12%, depending totally on the risk appetite and investment goals of the maturity bonds have fallen in price and now offer better yields, so a part of the portfolio can be considered for government securities in this segment. The final mix should match your risk comfort, cash needs, and tax suggestive split for a conservative profile:40% in AA+/AAA corporates (2–3 years)25% in long-dated G-Secs/SDLs (10 years and above)20% in ~1-year FDs for liquidityUp to 15% in carefully selected, listed higher-yield corporates (2–3 years)Use this as a starting point. Suitability depends on tax slab, existing portfolio holdings and cash-flow allocation & portfolio construction is personal and stems from the basic factor of investor appetite and external factors like global uncertainty and domestic slowdown in credit the current uncertain equities and growth outlook, investors can plan around 40% equities / 40% fixed income / 20% Gold. With the RBI on repo rate cut pause, a possible rate cut later in FY26 and a multi-year low CPI of 1.55%, a higher allocation to fixed income currently enables steady returns and a 'wait and watch' outlook towards on the risk appetite, bonds currently offer anywhere between 7% and 12% returns. The allocation needed to earn ₹50,000 per month (₹6 lakh a year) will depend on where you are within the credit continuum—from AAA ratings to BBB monthly payout or regular payout options, the investment required could range from ₹50 lakh to ₹85 lakh. A balanced approach aiming for around 9% returns can help achieve this target with roughly ₹66 lakh invested in corporate bonds.: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Economic Times
8 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Holy trinity of promoters, FIIs and DIIs bought these 21 stocks. Can they be the next big stars?
Live Events Why This Matters Market-Wide Trends (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel In investing, few signals are as powerful as the united conviction of promoters, foreign institutional investors (FIIs), and domestic institutional investors (DIIs). In the June quarter, 21 companies earned this vote of confidence from the 'holy trinity' — even though their recent price performance has been all three increase their stakes in a company, it usually means they believe in its business, growth story, and long-term value. According to experts, this indicates that investors are quietly buying more shares, drawn by attractive Autoline Industries , promoter shareholding increased by 343 basis points in Q1, while DIIs significantly increased their stake by 500 basis points. FIIs also inched up their holding, though by a modest 5 bps. The stock, however, has fallen 35% in 2025 so Zee Media Corporation (30% YTD fall), promoters boosted their stake by 228 bps, accompanied by a 50 bps rise in DII holdings and a notable 232 bps increase from in Nahar Poly Films , which has gained 15% this year, promoters rose 2 bps of stake, while FIIs and DIIs increased 7 bps and 30 bps stake rose 94 bps stake in Bandhan Bank (4% YTD gain); meanwhile, FII and DII increased stake in the banking stock by 161 bps and 2 bps, stocks that attracted the trio's interest in the June quarter included Jindal Steel & Power, Rain Industries, Dhampur Sugar Mills Ambika Cotton Mills , and Aavas Financiers According to Kranthi Bathini, Director-Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, promoters buying their company shares is always a positive indicator. It shows their confidence in the medium-to-long-term business prospects. When FIIs and DIIs — the key investment channels — also participate, it reinforces the belief in the company's potential. This combination further gives investors a clear signal of underlying in stark contrast to the above data, the private promoter shareholding in Indian markets fell to an 8-year low of 40.58% in June 2025 from 40.81% in March, with net sales of Rs 54,732 crore, per PRIME promoter buying signals confidence, selling can stem from reasons like profit-taking, debt reduction, or meeting regulatory norms, according to Pranav Haldea, Managing Director, PRIME Database GroupFII shareholding also slipped to a 13-year low of 17.04% despite net inflows of Rs 38,674 crore, while DII holdings hit a record 17.82% after Rs 1.68 lakh crore in net investments. This rare alignment of promoter, FII, and DII buying suggests strong underlying confidence and potential long-term opportunities.
Economic Times
8 minutes ago
- Economic Times
S&P Upgrade to Boost Foreign Flows, Lower Funding Costs for Indian Companies: Vishal Goenka
India's S&P rating upgrade to BBB with Stable Outlook is set to lower funding costs for corporates and attract stronger foreign inflows into bonds, says Vishal Goenka of He sees improved risk-adjusted returns, enhanced global positioning, and fresh opportunities for fixed-income investors. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) Could this rating upgrade lead to a re-rating of Indian corporate bonds, and if so, which segments or sectors are likely to benefit the most? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) What changes can fixed-income investors expect in foreign capital flows into India's debt market after this upgrade? Q) After the status quo policy from the RBI, do you see further rate cuts in the rest of FY26 and why? Q) How should investors position themselves in the fixed income portfolio amid rate cuts and geopolitical concerns? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Q) If someone is a risk-averse investor and wants to deploy ₹10,00,000 – what would you recommend? Please give a percentage split. Q) How can investors determine the right balance between bonds, equities and hybrid instruments amid changing market dynamics? Q) Can corporate bonds fund a ₹50,000 per month 'pension'? What corpus is needed? The recent upgrade of India's sovereign rating by S&P to BBB with a Stable Outlook is poised to be a game-changer for the country's corporate bond market, according to Vishal Goenka , Co-Founder of believes the move will not only unlock lower international funding costs for large Indian corporates—whose ratings are often capped by the sovereign level—but also attract greater foreign portfolio inflows into the bond government bond yields already rallying on the news, Goenka sees India securing a stronger position in the global emerging market investment landscape, offering better risk-adjusted returns and fresh opportunities for fixed income investors. Edited Excerpts –'International country ratings cap ratings of Large Indian corporates. Now, as the sovereign ratings are upgraded, the cost of international funding for Indian companies will go down. This will sequentially lead to lower funding costs for companies in general'Since your questions circle around the rating upgrade, I'm sharing Vishal's comment on the S&P upgrade that we shared earlier yesterday as well:India was just upgraded by S&P to BBB with a Stable Outlook. The Government Bond market is rallying on this news, as this would encourage more foreign and FPI inflows into the bond markets.A higher Credit Rating systematically gets more investments into the country as risk-adjusted returns are better. We see India remaining in the global spotlight for Emerging Market favourable asset allocation and bond yields to fall in the short kept the repo rate at 5.50% in August. July CPI was at 1.55%, a multi-year low. From here, policy is likely to pause and track the direction and timing of any move will also be shaped by US tariffs outcome and global policy, especially by the US Fed in think a further 25 bps is definitely on the cards for FY 26 and that we remain in the multi-year lower or stable interest rate allocation to fixed income in the overall portfolio should be higher now, given the equity volatility and the ongoing uncertain geopolitical fixed income, staying in the short end of the curve and investing in 2-3 year maturity higher yield corporate bonds will provide regular and consistent returns ranging from 8-12%, depending totally on the risk appetite and investment goals of the maturity bonds have fallen in price and now offer better yields, so a part of the portfolio can be considered for government securities in this segment. The final mix should match your risk comfort, cash needs, and tax suggestive split for a conservative profile:40% in AA+/AAA corporates (2–3 years)25% in long-dated G-Secs/SDLs (10 years and above)20% in ~1-year FDs for liquidityUp to 15% in carefully selected, listed higher-yield corporates (2–3 years)Use this as a starting point. Suitability depends on tax slab, existing portfolio holdings and cash-flow allocation & portfolio construction is personal and stems from the basic factor of investor appetite and external factors like global uncertainty and domestic slowdown in credit the current uncertain equities and growth outlook, investors can plan around 40% equities / 40% fixed income / 20% Gold. With the RBI on repo rate cut pause, a possible rate cut later in FY26 and a multi-year low CPI of 1.55%, a higher allocation to fixed income currently enables steady returns and a 'wait and watch' outlook towards on the risk appetite, bonds currently offer anywhere between 7% and 12% returns. The allocation needed to earn ₹50,000 per month (₹6 lakh a year) will depend on where you are within the credit continuum—from AAA ratings to BBB monthly payout or regular payout options, the investment required could range from ₹50 lakh to ₹85 lakh. A balanced approach aiming for around 9% returns can help achieve this target with roughly ₹66 lakh invested in corporate bonds.: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
