Cement sales at all-time high, India
Cement sales during the fiscal ended March 31, 2007 stood at an all-time high of 155Mt as against last fiscal’s 142Mt, recording a growth of 10%. Continuing its 100% capacity utilisation since January this year, the sales during March alone crossed the monthly production level of 14.95Mt to stand at 15.08Mt and were higher than last March’s despatches of 14.24Mt.
Amid government intervention in the form of the abolishment of counter-veiling duty and additional import duty at the beginning of March, the sales continued to surge strongly, industry sources said. With capacity utilisation crossing the 100% mark for the first time, to touch 102% in January 2007, in the last few years and followed by two impressive months of February and March, cement sales touched the 155Mt mark in the last fiscal, thanks to overall economic growth in general and an aggressive offtake from the realty sector in particular, sources added.
The southern region, which witnessed a slowdown in sales in the first half of the last fiscal due to the monsoon as well as a sharp increase in prices, regained lost momentum with an increased offtake from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh which posted negative growth in consumption in the beginning of the current fiscal, has seen sales picking up sharply. Strong Bond
Sales during March alone crossed the monthly production level of 14.95Mt to stand at 15.08Mt. Overall economic growth in general and an aggressive offtake from the realty sector The southern region regained lost momentum with an increased offtake from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Among the regions, the south ended the fiscal with 12% growth in consumption, followed by the northern region (11%) and the western region (10%). Karnataka in particular has shown remarkable growth in consumption with 20% growth over the same period last year, sources added. Published under Cement News
