JK Cement sees improvement in Q4 EBITDA/tonne; no respite in raw material prices

Rajnish Kapur, COO, JK Cement, mentioned that raw material prices still remain a worry and he does not see them easing at the moment. He also shared that as far as EBITDA/tonne is concerned, he is seeing an improvement in Q4 vis-à-vis Q3.

He said. "We don't see easing up of the raw material costs at this point of time and therefore increasing pressure on the industry to improve its pricing which will therefore improve the margins as well."

"If we look at the margins, as well as EBITDA per tonne in Q4, I don't visualize too much of a drop as compared to Q3. In fact, if I talk of my company, I'm expecting an improvement as compared to what was in Q3. So I am actually looking at a margin increase in terms of maybe a couple of percentage points in Q4 for my business," he explained.

Kapur is buoyant about Q4 as this quarter is generally marked by peak demand for the industry. In fact, he shared that the company is looking at a growth of 18-20 percent in grey business at the moment.

"Q4 is one of the peak demand months for cement industry. Overall, the industry is likely to end the year between 8 to 10 percent of growth. At JK Cement, in terms of pure cement, we had a 25 percent growth till now and we are expecting that by the time this quarter ends, the growth in terms of gray business will be anywhere between 18 and 20 percent year on year (YoY)," he said.

JK Cement to hike prices in Q4, cuts volume growth guidance, says Rajnish Kapur