Birla Group cements lead, Adani plans taking shape
cement sector, say watchers, may intensify with the Adani group announcing ambitious future expansion plans, but for now, the Kumar Mangalam Birla group has seemingly consolidated its position with a 23% stake in India Cements, expanding its footprint in the country's biggest regional market with among the highest per capita incomes.
While the Adani group has unveiled a $3-billion war chest aimed at expanding through acquisitions in the cement sector, the significant gap between the Birla group and its nearest competitor remains a formidable challenge. UltraTech's annual organic capex has been estimated to be $1-1.2 billion.
«It has been Birla group's strategic initiative and efforts over 36 years to get UltraTech to reach the 100 MTPA capacity. In fact, 50 MTPA has been added in just 5 years and in the last 12 months alone, UltraTech has added about 19 million tonnes of capacity. Leadership position is not an overnight development,» said an official close to the development.
Both the Birla group and Adani group did not comment.
«There was pressure on the Birla group to quickly announce something after the announcement from Adani's last week,» said an analyst with a domestic brokerage. «While they are likely to retain the leadership position, the gap between the two could reduce,» he said.
A war of titans builds up in India's cement sector
While UltraTech aims to reach a capacity of 200 million tonnes by March 2027, Adani Cement — consisting of Ambuja Cements, ACC and Sanghi Industries —
