Strong Q4 earnings for cement sector

Cement companies are expected to report strong earnings growth in the last quarter of FY19 on the back of price hike and robust demand. In fact, Emkay Global Financial Services expects volume growth for major cement companies such as UltraTech Cement, Shree Cement, Ramco Cements and JK Lakshmi Cement to be in the range of 9-12 percent each. "Cement demand continues to remain strong, driven by government infrastructure projects and low-cost housing," it said. Cement production in India grew 9.5% YoY in Jan-Feb'19. South-based companies may see earning upgrades as they announced price hikes of Rs 20-35/bag across the country in April. The sustenance of the announced price hikes would be a key trigger, the brokerage said. It expects ACC and Ambuja Cement to report volume growth of 5% and 4% YoY, respectively. Sanghi Industries is expected to report volume growth of 14.3% YoY on a favourable base from last year.