India’s June cement sales up 4.6 per cent on year
Cement sales in India rose 4.6 perc ent in June from the same month a year ago to 13.55Mt.
Production rose 5.6 per cent to 13.66Mt last month, against 12.94Mta earlier, according to provisional figures compiled by the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA).
Cement production has lagged demand, which trade analysts expect to rise by about 10 per cent in the year to March 2008, as Asia’s third-largest economy builds infrastructure capable of sustaining average annual economic expansion of 9 per cent.
Both production and sales data for June were lower than the May figures due to a lack of spare capacity at cement plants and the early arrival of annual rains, when construction falls off.
"It has lot to do with earlier than expected monsoons, and the fact that most cement companies are now operating at 100 per cent of their capacity. So you cannot push through the roof for new capacity," said Ajit Motwani, an analyst with Emkay Share & Stock Brokers.
The CMA revised marginally upwards both production and sales figures for May, to 14.26Mt and 14.22Mt respectively.
During the April-June period, sales were up seven per cent at 41.60Mt from a year ago, while output rose 6.9 per cent to 41.88Mt, the CMA said. Published under Cement News
