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Market participants expect shares of major cement companies to emain subdued next week, as there still are concerns over revival in demand nd the ability of manufacturers to hike prices. The fall in share prices will, however, be somewhat contained as the government has begun taking the much-awaited but slow steps towards infrastructure development.On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod for six-laning of Jalandhar-Amritsar highway, so expectations are rife that some more announcements are on the way, but in the short-term there still seems to be a subdued sentiment. We expect demand for the construction material to revive on the back of a good monsoon and pre-election spending. We expect cement companies to hike prices in November, but dealers are sceptical as companies have been trying to do this for a long time but not been able to keep prices high. The cement prices softened a bit in October after rising sharply in September. Manufacturers have been pushing for price hikes post Diwali. They managed to increase rates in select markets last week but not in major markets. We expects prices to move up in Oct-Dec, leading to a revival in profitability quarter-onquarter. We remain near-term cautious on the sector and continue to prefer cost-efficient players, viz UTCEM (UltraTech Cement) and SRCM Shree Cement.
Market participants expect shares of major cement companies to emain subdued next week, as there still are concerns over revival in demand nd the ability of manufacturers to hike prices. The fall in share prices will, however, be somewhat contained as the government has begun taking the much-awaited but slow steps towards infrastructure development.On Wednesday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its nod for six-laning of Jalandhar-Amritsar highway, so expectations are rife that some more announcements are on the way, but in the short-term there still seems to be a subdued sentiment. We expect demand for the construction material to revive on the back of a good monsoon and pre-election spending. We expect cement companies to hike prices in November, but dealers are sceptical as companies have been trying to do this for a long time but not been able to keep prices high. The cement prices softened a bit in October after rising sharply in September. Manufacturers have been pushing for price hikes post Diwali. They managed to increase rates in select markets last week but not in major markets. We expects prices to move up in Oct-Dec, leading to a revival in profitability quarter-onquarter. We remain near-term cautious on the sector and continue to prefer cost-efficient players, viz UTCEM (UltraTech Cement) and SRCM Shree Cement.
