Cement makers post strong volume growth in March

After a dip in February, the cement industry is once again likely to hit the double-digit growth trajectory in March, as demand for the building material is consistently strong. On the back of demand from the infrastructure space and realty, cement makers continued selling higher volumes of cement.

Hari Mohan Bangur, chairman and managing director of the north major Shree Cement, said: “Demand from all cement consuming sectors is pouring in. The industry is likely to see better than a normal growth in March.”

For instance, the Aditya Birla Group, which owns cement giants Grasim and UltraTech, sold 9.7 per cent more cement in March. Similarly, Holcim-owned Ambuja Cements hit double-digit growth of 11.14 per cent with its sale volumes at 1.91 million tonnes. Jaiprakash Associates, which has its cement plants in the central part of the country, registered a whopping rise of 75 per cent in its sales.

Industry analysts said incremental capacities had resulted in larger production which is required for rising demand.

Prices are unlikely to soothen, as demand momentum is strong. The commodity prices have already risen in the range of Rs 20-25 for a 50 kg bag of cement since then.”We expect the prices to remain stable in the near future,” added Bangur. The domestic cement industry is undergoing a massive expansion plan worth Rs 50,000 crore, to take the overall capacity to close to 300 million tonnes by 2012-end.

The current capacity is already at around 245 million tonnes.