Stock of this B K Birla group company has zoomed 75% in four weeks

Kesoram Industries hit a 52-week high of Rs 129.43, gaining 5 per cent, on report that UltraTech Cement has expressed interest in acquiring cement assets of the company

Shares of Kesoram Industries hit a 52-week high of Rs 129.43, gaining 5 per cent on the BSE in Friday's intraday trade, on the back of heavy volumes on report that UltraTech Cement has expressed interest in acquiring cement assets of Kesoram, and has also commenced negotiations to acquire promoters stake in the firm.

The stock of the B K Birla group company extended its winning run into fourth week, zooming 75 per cent during the period, from a level of Rs 73.97 hit on October 26.

A combined 2.3 million equity shares of Kesoram had changed hands on the NSE and BSE till 09:31 AM. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.08 per cent at 66,078.

Kesoram Industries is a flagship company of B K Birla group of companies. The company is engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of cement, and it markets its product under the brand name 'Birla Shakti'.

Kesoram Industries has two cement manufacturing plants -- one each at Sedam (Karnataka) and Basantnagar (Telangana) -- with a total production capacity of 10.75 million ton per annum (MTPA).

Meanwhile, last month, Kumar Mangalam Birla-promoted UltraTech Cement announced that its board of directors has approved the company's third phase of expansion to reach 182 MTPA capacity in India. UltraTech's current capacity in India stands at 132.45 MT.

The company said that, in its third phase, it will add another 21.9 MTPA for an investment of Rs 13,000 crore. This is over and above the ongoing second phase of expansion to reach 160 MTPA by 2025.

The third phase will include a mix of four each of brownfield, greenfield plants and greenfield bulk terminals. These are to be commissioned in a phased manner starting FY26.

"India is the second largest producer of cement in the world accounting for 7 per cent of the global installed capacity. The cement industry is mainly driven by the consequential number of construction activities with the growing demand and a surging need for residential complexes of urbanised population. Furthermore, the construction of various infrastructure projects such as airports and roads, undertaken by the government in recent times, propels the growth of the market," Kesoram Industries said in its FY23 annual report.

The demand growth forecast for the Industry is closer to 10 per cent. Cement production in the country, meanwhile, is expected to steadily grow and achieve 550-600 million tonnes per annum by 2025.

For the cement industry in India, the next few years affords it an opportunity of scalability. An upturn in the economy would amount to a further increase in infrastructural spends thereby boosting cement demand. That would enhance the adage of Building More, Building Well and Building Right, the company said.