Tile industry stands out in crowd

Financial markets may still be facing bumpy rides, but the building material sector looks set to build on its gains. That's not without reasons. Last week, the government approved construction of over 3.18 lakh more affordable houses in urban areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) PMAY (U) scheme, taking the total to 51 lakh units. The move is music to the ears of those in the building materials sector, including the tiles industry. The ceramic tiles industry is likely to post volume growth of around 8 per cent in FY19E and nearly 13 per cent in FY20E. The expansion comes on the back of 1.6 times annual jump in FY18 projects under execution under the PMAY (U) and 42 per cent YoY pre-sales growth in FY18 of listed real estate firms.