In Short:
The market share of the top five cement companies has increased to 54% in December 2021 and is expected to rise to 55% by 2025. M&A deals have been driven by the need for capacity, reserves, and avoiding long setup times. Focus is on eastern and western regions; the southern is fragmented, while the northern and central are expected to remain consolidated.
Guess what? The top five cement companies are taking over the market, grabbing a whopping 54 per cent share as of last December! That’s a big jump from 45 per cent back in March 2015. And they’re not stopping there – experts predict their market share to reach 55 per cent by March 2025, shaking things up in the cement industry.
Big Players
The top five cement companies making waves in the industry are **UltraTech**, **ACC**, **Ambuja**, **Shree Cement**, and **Dalmia Bharat**. Recent acquisitions by the Adani Group of ACC and Ambuja have played a significant role in this surge, as cash-flow issues and financial stress drive other mergers and acquisitions.
M&A Insights
According to Anupama Reddy, Vice President and Co-Group Head, Corporate Ratings at ICRA, there have been 15 mergers and acquisitions in the cement industry over the past nine years. These deals come at an average cost of $80 per tonne, making them more cost-effective than setting up a new cement plant from scratch ($110-120 per tonne). Acquisitions provide immediate capacity, access to limestone reserves, and eliminate the need for long waiting periods associated with new plant setups.
With a 28-tonne asset block up for grabs, ICRA expects the trend of mergers and acquisitions to continue. The major industry players are ramping up their growth plans, determined to maintain their dominance in the market.
Regional Shifts
The consolidation wave is sweeping across India, with the eastern and western regions taking the lead. In these areas, the market share of the top five cement companies is projected to skyrocket from 54 per cent in FY2015 to 79 per cent in FY2025.
Meanwhile, the southern region, which is currently fragmented, is expected to see the share of the top five players rise from 40 per cent in FY2015 to 50 per cent by FY2025. As for the northern and central regions, they have been stable at 65-75 per cent market share in FY2015 and are likely to remain strong at 75-85 per cent by FY2025.
