
Can Shree Cement, Ambuja's capex breather allay sector’s overcapacity concerns?
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Shree Cement Ltd clocked volume growth of around 9% in the March quarter (Q4FY26) at 10.8 million tonnes (mt), a tad ahead of the industry average growth of 8%. It closed FY26 with volume growth of 2% at 36.4 mt and eyes 40 mt volumes in FY27.
The ‘value over volumes’ strategy followed by Shree Cement over the last two years has narrowed the price gap with the industry leader, so volume growth can be higher ahead, the management said.The 3.5 mt cement unit at Kodla, Karnataka was commissioned in Q4FY26, taking its domestic capacity to 69.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Also, it has commenced work on the Meghalaya integrated plant.
But in the backdrop of low-capacity utilization at 66% in Q4FY26, Shree Cement has decided to go slow on capital expenditure (capex).The FY27 capex guidance has been cut from ₹3,000 crore (announced in Q2FY26 earnings call) to ₹1,500 crore, to be deployed towards ready-mix concrete (RMC) expansion, railway sidings, and initial work on the Meghalaya project. Shree Cement’s plan to reach 80 mtpa capacity target by 2029 is contingent on demand conditions and optimization of capacity utilization.Rival Ambuja Cements Ltd too has done a similar moderation.
The Adani group was earlier targeting cement capacity of 117 and 155 mtpa by FY26-end and FY28, respectively with annual capex of around ₹8,000 crore. In Q4FY26 earnings call, the Ambuja management said capacity would touch 119 mtpa by FY27-end from 109 mtpa in FY26.The capex outlay for FY27 is ₹6,000– ₹6,500 crore versus ₹7,500 crore in FY26.
Unless profitability improves, Ambuja management feels that incurring capex shall only lead to sub-optimal return ratios. So, it is targeting higher profitability via
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