Even as cement companies continue to announce ambitious expansion plans, analysts turn cautious over the sector as incremental supply is expected to coincide with a weak demand growth period, and other headwinds of higher fuel costs, weak monsoons and general elections. In August, JSW Cement said it will take its current 19 million tonnes (MT) capacity to 60 MT in the next five years. The country's top producers have massive expansion plans underway - UltraTech Cement targeting 200 MT, Adani Cement aiming for 140 MT and Dalmia Cement planning for 110-130 MT.
Cement manufacturers' show during the June 2023-ended quarter (Q1FY24) has indicated an intensified slugfest for market share. For instance, Dalmia Bharat (Cement) said it has lost market share in eastern India owing to lack of price discipline. Industry analysts also said that the seasonal weakness in cement prices for Q1 is showing up earlier than usual.
Of the top four companies, which collectively hold more than half of India's market share, two have pitted Shah Rukh Khan and Sunny Deol against each other.
Dalmia Bharat Ltd on Monday announced the acquisition of the cement assets of Jaypee Group's flagship company Jaiprakash Associates Ltd and its associate firms at an enterprise value of Rs 5,666 crore. In a regulatory filing, Dalmia Bharat informed that its wholly-owned subsidiary Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited (DCBL) has entered into a "binding framework agreement for the acquisition of clinker, cement and power plants from Jaiprakash Associates Limited and its associate company." The deal includes a total cement capacity of 9.4 Million tones (MnT) per annum, along with clinker capacity of 6.7 MnT and thermal power plants of 280MW at an enterprise value of Rs 5,666 crore, it added.
India Inc's young minds highlight the need for speed in the decision making of the economy's key issues.
A slew of real estate companies, like DLF, Omaxe, BPTP and Avnija Properties (Dalmia Cement), and large corporations like telecom bigwig AT&T, Sterlite, Videocon, JSW Power, Hinduja's HTMT, Moser Baer Infrastructure, Ispat Industries Ltd and a Sam Pitroda-owned company are among the 25 companies whose applications will not be immediately processed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for awarding mobile licences.
India story, pressure to invest are driving spurt in PE activity.
The rush to enter the world's fastest-growing mobile services market has attracted a wide range of applicants for telecom licences with the Department of Telecommunications.
Chinese equipment is comparatively cheaper than those from Europe. Puneet Dalmia, managing director, Dalmia Cement, said, "At present, we have no plans to bring machinery from China as there are unclear evidences regarding how long the plant would last." Cement majors such as ACC and Shree Cement has imported a small part of their equipment need from China, but these do not make part of the main cement plant.
Major cement companies have hiked the cement prices in South India by Rs 8-10 for 50 kg bags.
With the increased death rate in the ongoing second wave of Covid-19, domestic cement companies are in no better condition than they were in the April-June quarter of FY21 when the country faced nationwide lockdown. "This wave has had high death rate which has impacted the business. "We are in no better situation than last (year) April. "Deaths of drivers, dealers, contractors and also employees have hit the industry really very hard since April (FY22)," M Ravinder Reddy, director of Bharathi Cements said.
Top companies have grabbed a bigger pie of their sectors in the pandemic period, leading to a further rise in market concentration in many industries as measured by the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). The HHI score, which indicates competitive intensity in an industry (or a lack of it), reached a new high in FY21 as bigger firms raised their revenue market shares either organically or through mergers and acquisitions. A higher HHI score indicates a rise in market concentration in favour of a few firms while a lower score means that the industry's revenue is more evenly divided among many companies
Global private equity major KKR has ranked India second among the emerging markets on external risks, citing the high fiscal and current account deficits.
"India's middle class, small traders and farmers are the lifelines of its economic growth. By catering to these ambitions #Budget2019 infuses hopes for millions of dreams."
Core sector companies have seen volumes drop to single digit in the first nine months of FY16.
The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court it would examine the current status of development in 61 coal blocks allocated to companies, on a case-by-case basis, and take a decision within six weeks.
In a big shot in the arm for the YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh, a Central Bureau of Investigation court in Hyderabad on Monday granted conditional bail to its president and Member of Lok Sabha YS Jaganmohan Reddy in disproportionate assets case.
'The Indian cement sector is the most energy-efficient worldwide, mainly due to modern technology used in the plants but also because of efficient monitoring of a plant's performance on a daily basis, focusing on energy savings and carbon dioxide emission reductions.'
Be a fox by temperament and a hedgehog by conviction, Gaurav Dalmia tells Bhupesh Bhandari. Then, he explains why.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances