Cement sector on solid growth path; lower costs should support margins

India's largest cement maker, UltraTech saw an amazing 15.4 per cent volume expansion Y-o-Y, given the season and its scale

A look at the July-September quarter of financial year 2023-24 (Q2FY24) results of the 35 listed cement companies indicates that there has been a turnaround in the sector in the last 12 months, but profit generation in Q2FY24 is lower than in Q1FY24. This is partly due to seasonal effects, as the monsoon impacts construction activity negatively.

In aggregate, these 35 listed companies registered Rs 57,038 crore in net sales, which was 12.7 per cent growth year-on-year (Y-o-Y), but down 8.9 per cent sequentially. Declared Ebitda jumped 101 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs 9,940 crore, but was down 4.4 per