Large cement makers report volume growth in Q4; expect to continue momentum in FY26
Live Events
(You can now subscribe to our
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
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 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
35 minutes ago
- Economic Times
CreditAccess Grameen shares in focus after securing $100 million syndicated loan from Asian banks
Live Events CreditAcces Grameen share price target and performance (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel Shares of CreditAccess Grameen will be in focus on Wednesday after the company raised $100 million through external commercial borrowing from a group of banks across South Asia and the Far syndicated loan facility, structured in dual currencies—Japanese yen and US dollars—was led by Standard Chartered Bank, the company said in a regulatory Grameen is India's largest non-banking financial company focused on microfinance (NBFC-MFI).The facility was initially launched with a base size of $70 million in November 2024 but was later upsized to $100 million, with participation from seven banks, primarily from Korea and proceeds will be used to fund eligible social projects, the company to Trendlyne, the average target price for CreditAccess Grameen is Rs 1,191, suggesting a marginal downside of about 1% from current levels. Of the 16 analysts tracking the stock, most have a 'Buy' the technical front, the stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) stands at 59.5—well within the neutral zone (below 30 is oversold, above 70 is overbought). Meanwhile, the MACD is at 20.3 and remains above its centerline and signal line, indicating a bullish stock is currently trading above all key moving averages — including its 5-day, 10-day, 20-day, 30-day, 50-day, 100-day, 150-day, and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) — reinforcing the positive of CreditAccess Grameen closed 0.75% lower at Rs 1,196.2 on the BSE in the previous session. The stock is up 34% year-to-date but is down 21% over the past 12 months.: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
News18
an hour ago
- News18
RBI's 50 bps Repo Rate Cut: Impact On Your Home Loan And Tax Benefits Explained
Last Updated: Lower home loan interest rates also have a direct impact on tax benefits for homebuyers; Here's how In a significant move aimed at boosting economic growth and supporting borrowers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cut the repo rate by 50 basis points (bps). This brings the repo rate down to 5.75%, the lowest in several years, signaling an accommodative stance by the central bank. What is the Repo Rate? The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks in India. It is a critical tool of monetary policy that influences borrowing costs in the economy. When the repo rate is reduced, banks typically lower their lending rates, making loans cheaper for borrowers. Impact on Home Loan Interest Rates With a 50 bps reduction in the repo rate, home loan interest rates are likely to come down as well. Many banks have already announced cuts in their external benchmark-linked lending rates. This means that both new borrowers and existing borrowers with floating rate home loans can expect lower EMIs (Equated Monthly Installments). For example, a home loan of Rs 50 lakh for 20 years at an interest rate of 9% would see a monthly EMI reduction of roughly Rs 1,500 if the rate drops to 8.5%. Link to Home Loan Tax Benefits Lower home loan interest rates also have a direct impact on tax benefits for homebuyers. Under the Income Tax Act, home loan borrowers can claim deductions on both principal and interest payments: A reduction in interest rates means the total interest paid over the year also reduces. Consequently, the amount that can be claimed as a deduction under Section 24(b) might come down slightly. Avinash Polepally, Business Head, ClearTax, explained that 'a 0.5% repo rate cut on a Rs 1 crore, 20-year home loan lowers EMIs by Rs 3,138 monthly, saving Rs 7.53 lakh in interest over the loan term, where interest is reduced to 8.00% from 8.50%. These tax benefits significantly reduce the net cost of borrowing. Floating-rate loans excel in a falling rate environment, offering substantial savings. Banks may adjust either EMI or tenure post-rate cut, impacting overall benefits." Relief to Home Loan Borrowers The RBI's decision to cut the repo rate by 50 bps offers welcome relief to home loan borrowers. While the lower interest payments could slightly reduce the quantum of tax deductions available under Section 24(b), the overall savings in loan servicing costs far outweigh this effect. It's an opportune time for potential homebuyers to step in, and for existing borrowers to explore refinancing or part prepayment to further reduce their interest burden.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Industry seeks government sops to revive tourism in Kashmir
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads New Delhi: Airlines and the hospitality industry have asked the government for incentives to revive tourism in Jammu and Kashmir that has come to a standstill after the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam. SpiceJet and Air India have asked the government to waive the user development and aviation security fees at the Srinagar airport for a year so that they could offer cheaper tickets to passengers travelling to Kashmir. Currently the airport charges a user development fee of Rs 1,050 and aviation security fee of Rs 200 per traveller. These are included in air ticket prices.'After the Pahalgam incident, tourists are terrified, and no one is travelling to the Kashmir region. There is no demand for air travel to and from Kashmir and hotels are empty there,' the Federation of Indian Airlines wrote to the government last week. 'Apart from security and security measures, financial measures are important to rebuild traffic,' the airline lobby group said in a letter that ET has targeted attacks on tourists in Pahalgam took place at a time when Jammu and Kashmir was witnessing a tourism boom. The number of visitors was at a 15-year high, and the union territory's own revenue generation had started showing signs of Monday, 4,061 passengers arrived at the airport, almost half of what the airport handled a day before the attack. Following the terrorist attack, India did retaliatory strikes in Pakistan during which multiple airports near the border, including Srinagar, were shut have also reduced flights and are operating around 50 daily flights to Srinagar compared with 92 they operated before the in Kashmir are currently offering discounts of 30-50% which was never the case, said Mushtaq Reshi, president of the domestic tour operators' association in Kashmir and managing director of Essence a property such as Treebo Vitasta Villa in Srinagar is available for Rs 6,839 a night, down from Rs 16,886 before the terror Ahmed Chaya, president of the Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Association and chairman and founder of the Mushtaq Group of Hotels, said his association, during a recent meeting with J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah, has sought support for hoteliers in terms of interest waivers on loans for at least six months. "We have also requested for relief on electricity bills and other expenses. The business is badly hit and occupancies are almost zero," he Gosain, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, said he would urge the government to give incentives like lower taxes on hotels and flights for at least one year as a one-off measure."Further, tour operators should be invited and the government should undertake a campaign to underline that Kashmir is safe and secure to travel. Additionally, the film industry should be given incentives to shoot (there) as that also helps greatly in wooing travellers," he the Travel Agents Association of India has started an event, called Rally for Valley, in Kashmir on Tuesday."The situation is quite pathetic in terms of business for hotels,' said association president Sunil Kumar. 'Seventy-five of our association members are in Kashmir (for the event) from the North, West and South India … We can't expect people to travel here unless we lead by example. So, we will spend three days in Kashmir," he Tramboo, chairman of Pinnacle Resorts that operates The Khyber in Gulmarg, said if the government can allow exemption on GST for six months to one year, it will help encourage tourism. "This exemption should be applicable to all businesses allied to tourism like transportation, gondola and tour operators," he said. Nazir Rah, MD, Rah Bagh by The Orchard, Srinagar said hoteliers, especially those who have loans, are seeking support from the government as they would like some relief in terms of relaxation on monthly EMIs until business returns for the better.
