Orient Cement CEO expects price recovery after elections

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Deepak Khetrapal, Managing Director and CEO of Hyderabad-based Orient Cement expects a recovery in prices after the elections conclude in June.

Orient hopes to grow in line with industry average of 6-8%. This means volume of roughly 6.6-6.7 million tonne during April to March 2025 (FY25) from 6.1 million tonne done in FY24.

He is also confident that the shift in focus toward premium products and the new green energy investments will help improve per tonne margins this financial year.

He is also confident that the shift in focus toward premium products and the new green energy investments will help improve per tonne margins.

For the current financial year, he estimates EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) per tonne at ₹850-900. The FY24 EBITDA per tonne was around ₹850.

“The month of April has been impacted quite badly in terms of volumes and prices. And largely to do with the elections, the non availability of construction labour who go back to their native places to vote, extreme heat conditions, and water shortages,” he told CNBC-TV18.

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While there was a significant dip in prices in March, it has improved slightly in April, he noted.

He noted that even in a year where the consumer demand has been very muted, the premium brands have grown 31% year-on-year (YoY).

Premium products currently constitute about 22% of the company total sales.

At noon today, the company’s shares were up about half a percent at ₹222.75 on the NSE.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow