Shaildendra Chouksey, Whloetime Director, JK Lakshmi Cement is hopeful that things should start looking up in a quarter or two's time.
Total standalone income of the company fell by 2 percent to Rs 590.75 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, from Rs 600.42 crore in the same quarter of 2014-15 due to lack of demand.
Cement manufacturer JK Lakshmi Cement on Friday said it has tied up with Snapdeal to offer its entire product range online.
The company, which has over nine million tonnes per annum cement-making capacity, had clocked Rs 14.09 crore net profit in the same quarter last fiscal, it said in a release.
The company is confident of upping the total capacity from current 5 million tones to 10 million tones (mt) by end of FY15, said Shailendra Chouksey, Wholetime Director, Jk Lakshmi Cement.
Shailendra Chouksey, Wholetime Director, JK Lakshmi Cement spoke about cement sector and cement prices in an interview to CNBC-TV18.
Cement industry has been battling tough conditions since past couple of months due to hike in diesel and fuel prices which may lead to a hike of around Rs 10-15 per bag shortly, says Shailendra Chouksey.
Due to scheduled election in next 15 months, cement demand has slowed down around 30 percent due to no infra and construction activities
Cement production of the company was down to 11.5 lakh tonnes during the quarter because of subdued demand in the country's Northern and Western parts where JK Lakshmi Cement mainly operates. Realisation was down due to lower price of the building material.
Shailendra Chouksey, wholetime director, JK Lakshmi Cement says the company can grow 5.5-6 percent in FY14.
However, Shailendra Chouksey, Wholetime Director, JK Lakshmi Cement expects spurt in construction activity due to upcoming elections in various states in the next one year.
Amid concerns pertaining to rising raw-material and transport costs, factors such as better demand and improved pricing seem to have cheered the cement sector.
According to Shailendra Chouksey, wholetime director of JK Lakshmi Cement, in the first half, operating margin was about 23 percent.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Shailendra Chouksey, wholetime director, JK Lakshmi said that their current capacity is 4.8 million tonne. The company is working on several projects to boost capacity.
Shailendra Chouksey, Wholetime Director of JK Lakshmi Cement says that the worst in terms of margins is over. “The sales volumes were affected due to non-seasonal rains in November. The company expects a 8%-10% growth in dispatches in Q4FY11,” says Chouksey.