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Cement Industry
Cement Industry
Cement Industry
By Ismat Sabir
In the Budget 2004-05, the government did not reduce the expected Rs 250 per
metric tonne (MT) in central excise duty (CED) (12.5 per bag). This may have an
impact on the cement sector in two ways: it is expected that cement demand will
grow in future but the rate is likely to taper off from 13 percent to single digit, or the
manufacturers may raise cement prices, which may negatively affect the prospects of
cement demand in future.
With the resurgence in demand, improvement at the retention level, coal conversion
and debt restructuring, cement industry has entered the era of improving
profitability. With growth of the economy being linked to infrastructure development,
special emphasis was being paid to the construction sector. The prospects of
economic growth and construction sector are being linked to each other.
During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003 the industry had suffered a loss of Rs88
million and it operated only at 66 percent of the installed capacity. In comparison, it
earned a net profit of Rs 2,000 million during six months of the current fiscal year
i.e. July-December2003.
Present Position