Shares of India Cements soared 13 percent, hitting a 34-month high of Rs 163.80 on the BSE on Wednesday due to large volumes in a limited-range market. The cement maker’s shares surpassed its previous high of Rs 164, reached on November 26, 2020. It was trading at its highest level since February 2018.
As of 1:55 p.m., India Cements was trading at 163 rupees, up 12 percent, compared with a marginal 0.04 percent rise on the S&P BSE Sensex of 47,620 points. Trading volumes at the counter increased more than 10 times today. A total of 14.4 million shares, representing almost 5 percent of India Cements’ total capital, have changed hands so far in NSE and BSE.
Radhakishan Damani, the retail mogul, and his family own a 20.4 percent stake in India Cements as of September 30, 2020, the stake pattern data shows.
In the past month, the stock underperformed the market and was down 8 percent after the company reported that total volume of clinker and cement declined 18.6 percent year-on-year to 21.07 lakh tonnes in the July-September quarter (Q2FY21). By comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex rallied 7 percent over the same period, through Tuesday.
Management said Covid further damaged the cement industry’s sluggish performance in the final quarter of last year starting in March. It is only found in South India with substantial excess capacity; Recovery is likely to be slow. Capacity utilization in the south was much lower than in other regions and there is a slight chance, given the reduction in Covid activity, that utilization levels may improve, the company said in announcing second-quarter results. fiscal year 21 on November 6, 2020.
There are also reports of spikes in housing construction and construction activity in urban and semi-urban centers helped by the spike, the concept of working from home, and the return of migrant labor. This, along with a new stimulus measure expected by the government with a focus on increased public spending on irrigation, road construction and other projects, is expected to improve cement demand, he said.
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