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Informist, Friday, May. 8, 2026

MUMBAI – Cement stocks are seen rising more, with analysts expecting incremental cement price hikes in the near term. While strong volumes have thus far helped the March quarter earnings of cement companies, raw material costs have impacted margins and threaten to do further harm amid the war in West Asia, analysts said. In such a scenario, cement companies will likely pass on these elevated costs to customers, but this may weaken demand even more instead of protecting margins, an analyst at a domestic brokerage said. 

"Cement companies are ready for another round of price hikes in May," the analyst said. Earlier this month, NDTV Profit reported that cement prices are likely to rise by INR 10-INR 25 per bag from May 5, following an earlier hike in April, according to distributor inputs. In April, cement companies had increased prices by around INR 10 per bag. From a market perspective, several major cement stocks will be in focus, including UltraTech Cement, Ambuja Cements, Shree Cement, Dalmia Bharat, and JK Cement. Investors will be closely watching how these companies manage pricing amid weak demand conditions, the analyst added.

On the earnings front, Sagar Cements and Andhra Cements will release their March quarter figures next week. Investors will closely watch management commentary on the margin impact on these companies as they expect a spike in raw material costs, analysts said. Ambuja Cements and Shree Cements released their March quarter figures earlier this week. 

Ambuja Cements reported a sharp rise in its bottom line for the quarter, mainly because of a tax writeback. Its top line also rose, but was well below expectations. The company's management expects to reduce costs by a total of INR 500 per tonne by 2027-28 (Apr-Mar). Shree Cement reported a year-over-year decline in its net profit for the March quarter due to a surge in total expenses. The company expects per kilogram freight cost to rise to INR 100 in the June quarter from INR 90 in the March quarter. 

TOP HEADLINES

* Analyst Concall: Shree Cement sees FY27 capex at INR 15 bln
* Earnings Review: Shree Cement Q4 PAT falls as expenses up more than revenue
* NCLAT sets aside CCI order against Grasim Ind in viscose staple fibre case
* Analyst Concall: Ambuja Cements plans to cut costs by INR 500/tn by FY28
* Earnings Review: Ambuja Cements Q4 PAT surges on tax writebacks, beats view
* Earnings Outlook: Low realisations to drag Shree Cement's Q4 earnings
* NDTV Profit: Cement prices may rise INR 10-INR 25/bag May, say distributors
* JK Lakshmi Cement executes mining lease transfer with MP government
* Earnings Review: ACC PAT misses Street view as expenses rise to 14-qtr high
* Earnings Outlook: Rise in operating costs to hit Ambuja Cements' Q4 PAT

Following are the resistance and support levels for key cement stocks for next week as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

Reported by Eshitva Prakash

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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