Cement companies that have been able to sustain prices in the past few months through production discipline and cartelisation may not be able to keep them firm with the slack season kicking in and input costs rising. Oversupply is likely to keep cement prices under pressure. Cement companies will attempt to maintain price stability through supply discipline. However, such arrangements have not sustained for long in a market fragmented by various players with differential cost structures. Consequently, prices are expected to remain volatile for at least 18 months, which will impact earnings.
