OfBusiness Cement Dailies | 1st November 2023

Price

• Cement prices are expected to increase by up to Rs 20, depending on the area of serviceability, but no official announcement has been received yet.
• AAC Block prices are Rs 2,500/cubic meter ex Panipat and Rs 3,300/cubic meter ex Nashik, with GST as an additional cost.

Demand and Supply

• Supply is expected to be hampered as it’s the beginning of the new month, and rates are yet to be finalized. However, ongoing orders will be served as usual.
• Demand is strong in the central and northern regions, and there are signs of firmness in demand in the southern region.

News

• Ultra Tech Cement Limited, with a market capitalization of Rs. 2.37 lakh crores, opened its trading session positively. The share started at Rs. 8,242 and reached a high of Rs. 8,340 per share during the morning session, marking a gain of around 2%. This positive momentum followed the company’s announcement in an exchange filing that the board has approved the third phase of growth with an investment of Rs. 13,000 crores to increase capacity by another 21.9 Million Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) through a mix of brownfield and greenfield projects. The company currently has a capacity of 132.45 MTPA.
• JK Cement is expanding its presence in the energy sector with four new acquisitions. The company has signed agreements to acquire stakes in CleanMax Matahari, Fourth Partner Energy, Nay Energy, and Renewable Energy V.

OFB’s Opinion

• Buyers should wait for the final prices to be announced before finalizing any bulk orders. Planning and scheduling will be necessary as dispatches have been delayed by twenty-four to thirty-six hours.