Cement cos defy Govt, hike prices
Pioneer

Cement companies have gone back on their commitment to hold prices of the building material steady for a year and increased the rates by Rs 3-5 per 50-kg bag.

"Cement companies have increased the price by Rs 3-5 per bag in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka," industry sources said.

At present a 50-kg bag of cement costs Rs 230-240 and robust demand despite monsoon has aided the increase.

Cement Stockists and Dealers Association President Sanjay Ladiwala confirmed the increase that came despite companies agreeing to keep the prices stable for a year even if the input costs go up.

The agreement was reached when the government put pressure on manufacturers to roll back the hike they had announced after the Union Budget imposed dual duty structure on cement. Later the new tax structure was modified.

The manufacturers denied the increase. J K Cement Group Executive President R G Bagla said: "We have not increased the maximum retail price. There might have been an increase at retail level."

The industry players, however, said the agreement of manufacturers with government does not hold as the centre has cut countervailing duty on imported cement thereby hurting the domestic companies. Earlier, the government had also brought the import duty on cement to zero.

Cement stocks, which have been underperforming the market for the past few months, had a field day on Wednesday amid reports that cement producers had hiked prices by Rs3-5 per 50-kg bag across the country. The biggest gainer was ACC that surged 8.49 per cent to close at Rs 1,018. Ambuja Cement shares were up 4.5 per cent to Rs 130.

Last week, cement shares had gone up after Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the government had not asked cement companies to freeze prices and it would not interfere in setting cement prices.

Cement firms break word, increase prices
Business Standard

Low inflation, sustained demand even during rains trigger move.

Within four months of giving a commitment to the government that it will hold prices for a year, the cement industry today hiked prices by Rs 3-5 per 50 kg bag, an increase of 1.3-2 per cent.

“All cement companies have hiked prices by Rs 3-5 in Maharashtra and southern India from today, taking the price per 50 kg bag to Rs 270 in Maharashtra and Rs 250 in the South. The rains have not affected demand as of now and no price cut is expected this monsoon,” said Sanjay Ladiwala, the president of the Mumbai Cement Stockists and Dealers Association.

This is in contrast to the previous monsoons when the companies reduced prices due to a dip in demand.

The cement industry had promised Commerce Minister Kamal Nath in March that it would not hike prices for one year even if there was an increase in the cost of inputs.

“We have hiked prices by Rs 3-5 to Rs 232-235 per 50 kg bag in tune with the rising demand and owing to an increase in the manpower cost. There is no oversupply and the demand is still buoyant,” said AK Saraogi, chief financial officer, JK Cement, a leading manufacturer of North India.

Though Shree Cement and Jaiprakash Associates have denied any price increase, industry watchers expect them to follow suit shortly.

The steep decline in inflation from 6.7 per cent to just above 4 per cent has also encouraged the industry. Cement carries 1.73 per cent weight in the wholesale price index (WPI) and the government has taken a number of steps to keep its prices under check.

In January, it abolished the 12.5 per cent Customs duty on cement and in May, rolled back the dual excise duty and introduced an ad-valorem duty, which induced a price cut of Rs 3-7 per bag. In April, it withdrew the countervailing duty (CVD) on the product.

Most cement stocks were up today. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, ACC gained 8.98 per cent to close at Rs 1,022.55, JK Lakshmi Cement gained 4.64 per cent to close at Rs 133, Shree Cement gained 4.57 per cent to close at Rs 1,350 while India Cements gained 3.56 per cent to close at Rs 215.10.

Cement companies hike prices
Financial Express

Cement companies have increased their rates by Rs 3-5 per 50-kg bag in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, according to industry sources.

At present, a 50-kg bag of cement costs Rs 230-240, and robust demand despite the monsoon has aided the increase. Cement Stockists’ & Dealers’ Association president Sanjay Ladiwala confirmed the increase, which came despite cement companies agreeing to hold prices for a year even if input costs went up.

The commitment was made when the government put pressure on manufacturers to roll back the hike they had announced after the Union Budget imposed a dual duty structure on cement.
Later, the new tax structure was modified. Manufacturers, though, denied any increase. JK Cement Group executive president RG Bagla said:

“We have not increased the maximum retail price. There might have been an increase at the retail level.”