The Indian cement industry, which saw a spate of new projects, including Emami Cement’s setting up of a cement-grinding plant in West Bengal, and mergers and acquisitions recently, grew at a low rate in the third quarter ended December 2015 due to weak demand, a situation that is reportedly being worsened by cheap imports from two neigh-bouring countries.
The aggregate revenues of 18 cement companies grew 5.3 per cent to Rs 19,300 crore on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis with volumes up 5.9 per cent, said brokerage firm Nirmal Bang in its note last month. However, the more worrying part was that the average realisation (of these 18 cement companies) was down 1.8 per cent on a sequential basis, according to the note.