The demand for cement in India continues to grow and despatches of major companies have been showing a concrete trend. With strong demand having firmed up cement prices, shares of the companies have done well on the bourses. Over the past month, the major gainers from the sector have been Grasim (up 13.16 per cent), Gujarat Ambuja (13.77 per cent), ACC (14.49 per cent), UltraTech (16.57 per cent) and India Cements (5.81 per cent). With the continued thrust on housing and infrastructure, the outlook is positive.
 
Cement despatches registered a growth of 18 per cent y-o-y in Feb FY06 and 11.8 per cent y-o-y for the first eleven months of FY06. In comparison, the growth seen in FY05 was just under seven per cent. The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) numbers show that despatch figures of some cement majors are on an upswing.
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