Concrete

A volatile market leads to hedging of price

Published

3 years ago

January 16, 2023

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Jatin Shah, Chief Technical Officer and Managing Director, TDD, Colliers India, discusses the various aspects of the construction business that are getting affected by the fluctuations in cement prices and input costs.

How has the rise in cement and building materials costs impacted your business?
Cement price as per last report has risen by about 9 per cent in October 2022 compared to March 2022. Other components like steel, aluminium, copper etc., which are significant contributors
also remain volatile. The construction cost has gone up due to various factors like labour cost and cost of transport coupled with material
price volatility. This remains a concern for the developer, contractors and will continue to impact the industry.

As the costs are expected to remain volatile for a few more months, is there any change in your strategy or approach towards the launch of new projects?
The volatile market will impact developers.
The launch of projects by grade A developers will not be impacted as these developers do command a premium. However, the projects in tier II cities and grade B developers will witness a restraint unless there is some stability in the market, since they operate on thin margins. Apart from on-going Russian-Ukraine conditions, we may observe challenges due to a new surge in Covid-19 infections in some countries.

Tell us about the impact on the timely delivery of developer projects.
Developers (grade A) will continue to deliver their projects. Thanks to RERA and incremental involvement of end buyers and investment from funds, projects will be delivered with only small delays. The impact, as mentioned earlier, will mostly be on the grade B developers or the projects planned in tier II cities where possibly a wait and watch policy may happen.
How has consumer behaviour changed with a change in property costs? Do you expect the demand to decrease?
The residential sector has seen a good run
since the pandemic. Sales momentum has remained intact despite the rise in construction costs and property prices, led by robust demand for home ownership and schemes offered by developers during the festive season. However, led by increased property prices and rise in interest rates, we might see some moderation in demand in the short term. The demand might see a drop in affordable and mid-segment, while the demand for the luxury segment is expected to remain firm.

What is the major challenge that you have come across with the rising costs and how are you combating the same?
A volatile market leads to hedging of prices.
We recommend the developers to remain watchful for bulk procurement and approach projects with just-in-time approach, tweak contracts to bring in more materials linked to basic prices and take contractors into confidence. The transparency between developer and contractors at this stage will insulate both from the issues of fluctuating prices. Additionally, the selection of material, of suppliers and vendors should be reviewed holistically and not only be driven by the ‘lowest price’ concept.

How do you envision the future of real estate development and consumer behaviour with the rising cost of cement and other construction materials?
Real estate investments will continue to remain in focus and a preferred investment vehicle. Focus may shift to investments in grade A assets or projects by grade A developers where end buyer / user has the confidence on projects being
completed in time and with quality. While developers are expected to step ahead with caution, consumers might also adopt a wait and watch approach for decision making.

-Kanika Mathur

Concrete

Cement Production Up Eight Point Six Per Cent To 491.4 mn t In FY26

Icra Sees Seven To Eight Per Cent Growth In FY27

Published

10 hours ago

May 4, 2026

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Icra reported that cement production volumes rose by eight point six per cent in the financial year 2026 to 491.4 million (mn) metric tonne (t). March output was 48.4 mn t, up four per cent year on year on a high base.

The agency projected that volumes are expected to grow by seven to eight per cent in the current financial year, supported by sustained demand from the housing and infrastructure sectors. Average cement prices were reported to have remained flat in March at Rs 340 per bag on a month on month basis, while prices for FY26 increased by two per cent to Rs 345 per bag year on year.

Among inputs, coal prices declined by 17 per cent year on year to USD 102 per t in April 2026 while petcoke prices rose sharply by 19 per cent month on month and 22 per cent year on year to around Rs 15,800 per t in April. Petcoke was higher by about five per cent year on year in FY26 and diesel prices were reported to have remained steady. Icra noted that coal, petcoke and diesel are expected to trend higher in FY27 and remain exposed to risks from the ongoing West Asia conflict.

The report emphasised that operating margins for Icra’s sample set of companies are estimated to moderate by 200 to 400 basis points (bps) in FY27 on account of a likely increase in input costs, with further downside risks should crude prices rise owing to geopolitical tensions. However, debt protection metrics are projected to remain comfortable and Icra maintained a stable outlook on the Indian cement sector.

Concrete

UltraTech Cement FY26 PAT Crosses Rs 80 bn

Company reports record sales, profit and 200 MTPA capacity milestone

Published

5 days ago

April 29, 2026

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UltraTech Cement reported record financial performance for Q4 and FY26, supported by strong volumes, higher profitability and improved cost efficiency. Consolidated net sales for Q4 FY26 rose 12 per cent year-on-year to Rs 254.67 billion, while PBIDT increased 20 per cent to Rs 56.88 billion. PAT, excluding exceptional items, grew 21 per cent to Rs 30.11 billion.

For FY26, consolidated net sales stood at Rs 873.84 billion, up 17 per cent from Rs 749.36 billion in FY25. PBIDT rose 32 per cent to Rs 175.98 billion, while PAT increased 36 per cent to Rs 83.05 billion, crossing the Rs 80 billion mark for the first time.

India grey cement volumes reached 42.41 million tonnes in Q4 FY26, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year, with capacity utilisation at 89 per cent. Full-year India grey cement volumes stood at 145 million tonnes. Energy costs declined 3 per cent, aided by a higher green power mix of 43 per cent in Q4.

The company’s domestic grey cement capacity has crossed 200 MTPA, reaching 200.1 MTPA, while global capacity stands at 205.5 MTPA. UltraTech also recommended a special dividend of Rs 2.40 billion per share value basis equivalent to Rs 240.

Concrete

Towards Mega Batching

Optimised batching can drive overall efficiencies in large projects.

Published

6 days ago

April 28, 2026

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India’s pace of infrastructure development is pushing the construction sector to work at a significantly higher scale than previously. Tight deadlines necessitate eliminating concreting delays, especially in large and mega projects, which, in turn, imply installing the right batching plant and ensuring batching is efficient. CW explores these steps as well as the gaps in India’s batching plant market.

Choose well

Large-scale infrastructure and building projects typically involve concrete consumption exceeding 30,000-50,000 cum per annum or demand continuous, high-volume pours within compressed timelines, according to Rahul R Wadhai, DGM – Quality, Tata Projects.

Considering the daily need for concrete, “large-scale concreting involves pouring more than 1,000–2,000 cum per day while mega projects involve more than 3,000 cum per day,” says Satish R Vachhani, Advanced Concrete & Construction Consultant…

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