India's wires and cables stocks slide as UltraTech Cement enters segment

R R Kabel

04/09/2026 05:31

** Shares of Indian wires and cables companies down between 2.8% and 6.3%
** UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS launched wires and cables business, Ultravolt, with a planned investment of 18 billion rupees ($190.6 million)
** Motilal Oswal expects near-term pressure on C&W stocks due to ULTC's ambitious target of becoming the No. 2 brand, though the industry's underlying demand outlook remains constructive
** Analysts at J.P. Morgan says Ultratech's official launch a sentiment negative for market-leader Polycab India POLC.NS, which is trading 4% lower
** KEI Industries KEIN.NS slips 6.3%, R R Kabel RRKA.NS  down 3%, and Finolex Cables FNXC.NS trades 2.7% lower
** However, J.P. Morgan does not expect a meaningful medium-term impact on the business, as ULTC's planned capacity addition is not significant enough over the next 2 years, while further capacity expansion appears unlikely in the medium-term
** ULTC shares up 0.5%
** On YTD basis, POLC and KEIN up ~11%, while FNXC and RRKA up ~66% and ~75%, respecitvely

($1 = 94.4625 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Anuran Sadhu in Bengaluru)
 ((Anuran.Sadhu@thomsonreuters.com; +91 8697274436;))