UltraTech Cement, Ambuja, ACC, Shree Cement, others: Muted April cement sales volumes, prices add to caution
Ambuja Cements, ACC, Dalmia Bharat Q4 earnings performances have remained a mixed bag. While some met expectations and few as UltraTech and even ACC performance came ahead of expectations, Dalmia Bharat and Ambuja Cements Q4 performance remined below expectations on weaker than expected realizations.
The months of March, April and May remain seasonally strong as construction activities catch pace benefitting cement manufacturers till June before onset of monsoon takes place impacting construction activities. Also Read- Stocks to buy: Nifty may hit 25k by year-end, says Axis Securities, lists 16 top picks to buy in May Though cement demand outlook during the new financial year remains strong, the ongoing national elections are keeping government spending and labor availability under check impacting construction activities.
Volumes are subdued and realizations improvement is yet to be seen. Analyst at a domestic Brokerage on condition of anonymity said that said that he does not expect much uptick in demand and pricing till election results are declared and caution may persist on Cement stocks during the period.
The monsoon season will set in thereafter, so meaningful recovery may be seen during the second Half of FY25 Analysts at Jefferies India Pvt Ltd in their report on demand trend based on their channel checks said that, they expect Industry volumes to be weak for the month, likely flat to lower year on year, reflecting impact of slowdown in construction activity due to National Elections. Also Read- Coal India share price rises 4% post Q4 earnings: Should you Buy, Sell or Hold the stock? While April demand remained subdued, analysts channel checks suggest price hikes attempted at start of April failed to sustain.
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