 "Cement shares gain as ACC March quarter volume growth beat Street forecast")
Shares of cement companies rallied up to 8% on the BSE after ACC reported a better than expected 3.8% year on year (YoY) volume growth for the quarter ended March 2017.
ACC, India Cements and Orient Cement have rallied more than 5%, while UltraTech Cement, Prism Cement, Ambuja Cement, Dalmia Bharat and HeidelbergCement India were up between 2% and 4%. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.52% at 29,516 at 11:52 am.
Among the individual stocks, ACC has rallied 7% to Rs 1,603 on back of four-fold jump in trading volumes.
“Cement volumes during the quarter showed growth as the impact of demonetization declined and benefits were delivered from ongoing customer excellence initiatives and higher sales from the expanded capacity at Jamul and Sindri plant,” ACC said in a press release.
The company said increased government spending on infrastructure development, housing, roads, railways, irrigation and other schemes as announced in the Union Budget are expected to reinvigorate the construction sector and boost demand for cement and concrete during 2017.
Management indicated that Infrastructure boost (primarily from road sector) has been supporting the demand growth. Further, there is a sizeable spurt in cement demand aided by "Housing for All" scheme in East. In ready mixed concrete (RMC) segment, ACC recorded 8% YoY volume growth driven by increase in sale of value added product.
The brokerage houses expecting cement sector to report a volume dip YoY mainly on demonetisation-led slowdown and higher base in the previous year.
“Government thrust for affordable housing and rural economy should boost housing demand, and alongside investment on infrastructure development should aid cement volumes for Industry. We opine that cement is the best proxy play on India's infrastructure sector story, and given the news flows on cement price hikes and demand uptick, we believe cement stocks would continue to outperform the market,” analyst at Antique Stock Broking said in report.
UltraTech Cement, which schedule to announce its March quarter results today, was up 3.5% at Rs 4,110.
ACC, India Cements and Orient Cement have rallied more than 5%, while UltraTech Cement, Prism Cement, Ambuja Cement, Dalmia Bharat and HeidelbergCement India were up between 2% and 4%. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.52% at 29,516 at 11:52 am.
Among the individual stocks, ACC has rallied 7% to Rs 1,603 on back of four-fold jump in trading volumes.
“Cement volumes during the quarter showed growth as the impact of demonetization declined and benefits were delivered from ongoing customer excellence initiatives and higher sales from the expanded capacity at Jamul and Sindri plant,” ACC said in a press release.
The company said increased government spending on infrastructure development, housing, roads, railways, irrigation and other schemes as announced in the Union Budget are expected to reinvigorate the construction sector and boost demand for cement and concrete during 2017.
Management indicated that Infrastructure boost (primarily from road sector) has been supporting the demand growth. Further, there is a sizeable spurt in cement demand aided by "Housing for All" scheme in East. In ready mixed concrete (RMC) segment, ACC recorded 8% YoY volume growth driven by increase in sale of value added product.
The brokerage houses expecting cement sector to report a volume dip YoY mainly on demonetisation-led slowdown and higher base in the previous year.
“Government thrust for affordable housing and rural economy should boost housing demand, and alongside investment on infrastructure development should aid cement volumes for Industry. We opine that cement is the best proxy play on India's infrastructure sector story, and given the news flows on cement price hikes and demand uptick, we believe cement stocks would continue to outperform the market,” analyst at Antique Stock Broking said in report.
UltraTech Cement, which schedule to announce its March quarter results today, was up 3.5% at Rs 4,110.
| COMPANY | LATEST | PREV CLOSE | GAIN(%) |
| ORIENT CEMENT | 163.1 | 152.3 | 7.1 |
| ACC | 1597.0 | 1496.8 | 6.7 |
| INDIA CEMENTS | 200.6 | 188.1 | 6.7 |
| PRISM CEMENT | 109.3 | 104.6 | 4.5 |
| ULTRATECH CEM. | 4109.1 | 3968.8 | 3.5 |
| AMBUJA CEM. | 246.8 | 239.5 | 3.0 |
| DALMIA BHAR. | 2100.0 | 2049.0 | 2.5 |
| HEIDELBERG CEM. | 136.9 | 133.6 | 2.5 |
| THE RAMCO CEMENT | 689.0 | 676.3 | 1.9 |
| JK LAKSHMI CEM. | 474.3 | 467.6 | 1.4 |
One subscription. Two world-class reads.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
SAVE 25%
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Subscribe
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors
Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share
Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor
Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements
Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
SAVE 25%