Cement companies off to buoyant start in New Year
Buoyancy on sales for the cement sector continued in the first month of the New Year as the manufacturers clocked up to 27% rise in sales on brisk construction and infrastructure activities.
February 04, 2012 / 12:41 IST
Buoyancy on sales for the cement sector continued in the first month of the New Year as the manufacturers clocked up to 27% rise in sales on brisk construction and infrastructure activities.
Among leading cement makers, Jaypee Cement's sales grew the highest at 27%, followed by ACC at 9% and Ambuja Cements by nearly 4% Jaypee Cement's sales grew to 1.96 million tonnes (MT) in January this year from 1.54 MT in January last year.ACC's sales grew to 2.23 MT in the month from 2.05 MT in the same month a year ago. Ambuja Cements' reported a little over 4% rise in sales at 1.91 MT over the same period last year."Cement volumes depend upon the real estate construction and infrastructure projects. The volumes in January reflect the accelerated activity on both the areas," an analyst said.Registering 5.9% growth, cement consumption of the country during the April-December period of the current fiscal stood at 160.3 MT over 151.4 MT in the corresponding period last fiscal.In December, India's cement consumption grew by 13.4% to 19.8 MT against 17.4 MT in the same month last year. However, despite double-digit growth in demand, average pan-India retail price of cement had dipped by around 1%month-on-month to Rs 285 per bag during December 2011.Meanwhile, commensurating with rise in sales, production of the cement makers also increased.ACC's production increased to 2.25 MT in January over 2.06 MT in the corresponding month last year. Ambuja Cements' production grew to 1.9 MT compared to 1.84 MT in the year ago period. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
