India's UltraTech Cement expects another quarter of slow growth

23 Jul 2024 CW Team

UltraTech Cement, India's No.1 cement maker, reported first-quarter earnings below estimates on Friday, hurt by soft demand and muted prices amid intensifying competition, and said growth would pick up only next quarter. Cement prices were hovering around more-than-three-year lows from April to June as attempts to raise prices were stymied by soft demand and an aggressive fight for market share, analysts said. Prices have softened sequentially in July and will likely only start improving from October onwards, Atul Daga, UltraTech's finance chief, said in a post-earnings call. The company's first-quarter profit and revenue both came below analysts' average estimates, according to LSEG data. Its revenue growth of 2% was the slowest in at least five quarters due to an election-linked slowdown in government construction spending. Sales volumes increased 6%, on the lower end of the 5%-11% band estimated by analysts. UltraTech has been fighting to protect its market share, especially from the billionaire Adani Group which has risen to the No.2 spot in just two years via multiple big-ticket acquisitions. The Aditya Birla Group-backed UltraTech has taken the same route, with its last deal being buying a 23% stake worth up to $228 million in India Cements last month. There was speculation UltraTech could increase its stake but Daga, on Friday, said it "can't go beyond" that 23% stake. UltraTech's shares ended 3.3% lower after the results.

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

VECV Sales Rise 7.8 Per Cent In May 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles recorded sales of 7,978 units in May 2026, compared to 7,401 units in May 2025, registering growth of 7.8 per cent. This included 7,789 units from the Eicher brand and 189 units from the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,789 units during the month, up 7.3 per cent from 7,258 units a year earlier. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 9.1 per cent to 7,375 units from 6,758 units in May 2025.Exports declined 17.2 per cent to 414 units from 500 units in the corresponding month last year. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recor..

Table Space Strengthens DESYN Leadership Team

Table Space has announced strategic leadership appointments within DESYN, its integrated Design and Build business, as it looks to strengthen operations across key enterprise and GCC markets in India. DESYN was launched as a strategic extension of Table Space’s workspace solutions portfolio to meet rising demand for agile, high-quality and rapidly deployable enterprise workspaces.Shruti Ookabhoy has joined DESYN as Executive Director and will lead the Design vertical, focusing on design capability, operational excellence and team development across markets. She brings over 22 years of experi..

Concord Associate Bags Rs 2.79 Bn Kavach Order

Concord Control Systems said its associate company, Progota India, has received a Rs 2.79 bn domestic order from Indian Railways for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of on-board Kavach 4.0 loco equipment.The order is scheduled for execution within 12 months and strengthens Concord’s role in India’s railway safety and signalling ecosystem. Kavach is India’s indigenous automatic train protection system, designed to improve operational safety by helping prevent signal passing at danger and reducing collision risks.Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Syst..