

Nuvoco Vistas turns to price hikes as cost headwinds intensify
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd’s March quarter (Q4FY26) Ebitda touched a record quarterly high of ₹587.6 crore, aided by better realizations, exceeding Bloomberg’s consensus estimate by 5%.
Can this continue amid the prolonged West Asia war fueling input cost inflation?Elevated costs of petroleum coke (pet coke) and polypropylene bags would increase Nuvoco’s fuel and packaging expenses. In the June quarter (Q1FY27), the management expects blended fuel cost to rise to ₹1.51-1.55 per kcal from ₹1.44, with a probability of further rise in Q2FY27.Packaging costs rose by ₹20 per tonne in March, followed by another about ₹100 per tonne impact expected in April. Mineral gypsum costs are also higher due to supply disruptions from Oman.
Overall, Nuvoco is bracing for a ₹200 per tonne cost inflation pinch to reflect in FY27.Sure, it took a blended price increase of ₹8-12 a bag and ₹10-15 a bag in the trade and non-trade segments, respectively, across its east and north India markets. It is also optimizing costs.
It aims to replace the share of high-cost pet coke with low-cost domestic coal and alternative fuel resources (AFR). Nuvoco’s Q4FY26 fuel mix comprised around 53% coal, 37% pet coke and 10% alternative fuel resources (AFR).Nuvoco is not keen on sacrificing profitability for market share, so if costs keep rising, it may need to raise prices further.It is likely that other cement companies, too, have hiked prices to fight rising costs.
But any slowdown in government-led infrastructure capex and subdued traction in individual home building segment amid broader inflationary pressures, could hurt demand, making price hike absorption challenging. Over 70% of Nuvoco's installed capacity is in the east,
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