Connect with us

Concrete

Lower sales realization impacts margins for cement makers in Q2 FY25

The industry encountered several challenges, including an extended monsoon season.

Published

on

Shares

Major cement manufacturers reported a decline in margins for the September quarter, primarily due to lower prices, which led to decreased sales realization.

With the exception of three leading cement producers—UltraTech Cement, Ambuja Cement, and Dalmia Bharat—smaller companies, including Nuvoco Vistas Corp, JK Cement, Birla Corporation, and Heidelberg Cement, experienced a drop in both topline and sales volume during the second quarter of the current fiscal year.

The industry encountered several challenges, including an extended monsoon season, flooding, and a slow recovery in government demand, all contributing to weak overall demand.

Despite these challenges, power, fuel, and other costs largely remained stable across the industry. The all-India average cement price was approximately Rs 348 per 50 kg bag in June 2024, which represented an 11 per cent year-on-year decrease to Rs 330 per bag in September, although it saw a month-on-month increase of 2 per cent.

In the first half of FY25, cement prices declined by 10 per cent year-on-year, settling at Rs 330 per bag. This decline was notable compared to the previous year’s average prices of Rs 365 per bag and Rs 375 per bag in FY23, as reported by Icra.

Leading cement manufacturer UltraTech reported a capacity utilization rate of 68 per cent, with a 3 per cent growth in volume. However, its sales realization for grey cement declined by 8.4 per cent year-on-year and 2.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter during the July-September period.

In response to a query regarding cement prices during the earnings call, UltraTech’s CFO Atul Daga indicated that there had been an improvement in prices from August to September and noted that prices remained steady from September to October. He mentioned that the prices had risen from Rs 347 in August to approximately Rs 354 currently.

Concrete

Molecor Renews OCS Europe Certification Across Spanish Plants

Certification reinforces commitment to preventing microplastic pollution

Published

on

By

Shares

Molecor has renewed its OCS Europe certification for another year across all its production facilities in Spain under the Operation Clean Sweep (OCS) voluntary initiative, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and environmental protection. The renewal underlines the company’s continued focus on preventing the unintentional release of plastic particles during manufacturing, with particular attention to safeguarding marine ecosystems from microplastic pollution.

All Molecor plants in Spain have been compliant with OCS Europe standards for several years, implementing best practices designed to avoid pellet loss and the release of plastic particles during the production of PVC pipes and fittings. The OCS-based management system enables the company to maintain strict operational controls while aligning with evolving regulatory expectations on microplastic prevention.

The renewed certification also positions Molecor ahead of newly published European regulations. The company’s practices are aligned with Regulation (EU) 2025/2365, recently adopted by the European Parliament, which sets out requirements to prevent pellet loss and reduce microplastic pollution across industrial operations.

Extending its sustainability commitment beyond its own operations, Molecor is actively engaging its wider value chain by informing suppliers and customers of its participation in the OCS programme and encouraging responsible microplastic management practices. Through these efforts, the company contributes directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 14 ‘Life below water’, reinforcing its role as a responsible industrial manufacturer committed to environmental stewardship and long-term sustainability.

Continue Reading

Concrete

Coforge Launches AI-Led Data Cosmos Analytics Platform

New cloud-native platform targets enterprise data modernisation and GenAI adoption

Published

on

By

Shares

Coforge Limited has recently announced the launch of Coforge Data Cosmos, an AI-enabled, cloud-native data engineering and advanced analytics platform aimed at helping enterprises convert fragmented data environments into intelligent, high-performance data ecosystems. The platform strengthens Coforge’s technology stack by introducing a foundational innovation layer that supports cloud-native, domain-specific solutions built on reusable blueprints, proprietary IP, accelerators, agentic components and industry-aligned capabilities.

Data Cosmos is designed to address persistent enterprise challenges such as data fragmentation, legacy modernisation, high operational costs, limited self-service analytics, lack of unified governance and the complexity of GenAI adoption. The platform is structured around five technology portfolios—Supernova, Nebula, Hypernova, Pulsar and Quasar—covering the full data transformation lifecycle, from legacy-to-cloud migration and governance to cloud-native data platforms, autonomous DataOps and scaled GenAI orchestration.

To accelerate speed-to-value, Coforge has introduced the Data Cosmos Toolkit, comprising over 55 IPs and accelerators and 38 AI agents powered by the Data Cosmos Engine. The platform also enables Galaxy solutions, which combine industry-specific data models with the core technology stack to deliver tailored solutions across sectors including BFS, insurance, travel, transportation and hospitality, healthcare, public sector and retail.

“With Data Cosmos, we are setting a new benchmark for how enterprises convert data complexity into competitive advantage,” said Deepak Manjarekar, Global Head – Data HBU, Coforge. “Our objective is to provide clients with a fast, adaptive and AI-ready data foundation from day one.”

Supported by a strong ecosystem of cloud and technology partners, Data Cosmos operates across multi-cloud and hybrid environments and is already being deployed in large-scale transformation programmes for global clients.

Continue Reading

Concrete

India, Sweden Launch Seven Low-Carbon Steel, Cement Projects

Joint studies to cut industrial emissions under LeadIT

Published

on

By

Shares

India and Sweden have announced seven joint projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions in the steel and cement sectors, with funding support from India’s Department of Science and Technology and the Swedish Energy Agency.

The initiatives, launched under the LeadIT Industry Transition Partnership, bring together major Indian companies including Tata Steel, JK Cement, Ambuja Cements, Jindal Steel and Power, and Prism Johnson, alongside Swedish technology firms such as Cemvision, Kanthal and Swerim. Leading Indian academic institutions, including IIT Bombay, IIT-ISM Dhanbad, IIT Bhubaneswar and IIT Hyderabad, are also participating.

The projects will undertake pre-pilot feasibility studies on a range of low-carbon technologies. These include the use of hydrogen in steel rotary kilns, recycling steel slag for green cement production, and applying artificial intelligence to optimise concrete mix designs. Other studies will explore converting blast furnace carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide for reuse and assessing electric heating solutions for steelmaking.

India’s steel sector currently accounts for about 10–12 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions, while cement contributes nearly 6 per cent. Globally, heavy industry is responsible for roughly one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and consumes around one-third of total energy.

The collaboration aims to develop scalable, low-carbon industrial technologies that can support India’s net-zero emissions target by 2070. As part of the programme, Tata Steel and Cemvision will examine methods to convert steel slag into construction materials, creating a circular value chain for industrial byproducts.

Continue Reading

Trending News

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER

 

Don't miss out on valuable insights and opportunities to connect with like minded professionals.

 


    This will close in 0 seconds