India's UltraTech Cement to spend $206 million to enter cables, wires business

Ultratech Cement

25/02/2025 12:51

Feb 25 (Reuters) - UltraTech Cement  ULTC.NS , India's
top cement maker by capacity, will spend 18 billion rupees ($206
million) to start up a wires and cables business, deepening its
foothold in the construction materials business, the company
said on Tuesday.
    The wires and cables business will be part of UltraTech's
building products division, which includes waterproofing
products, TMT steel bars, plywood, sanitary ware, hand tools as
well as electrical components such as switchboards.
    The investment, to be spread over two years, will involve
UltraTech building a plant by December 2026 with the aim of
capturing demand in a sector that, the Aditya Birla group
company said, logged a compound annual growth rate of about 13%
between fiscal 2019-2024.
    This sector is dominated by companies such as Polycab
 POLC.NS  and Havells  HVEL.NS  and one that is plagued by
volatile prices of copper - a key raw material - and intense
competition from smaller, cheaper local players.
    Additionally, the infrastructure and construction
industries, key clients of the wires and cables makers, will
likely see a slowdown in 2025 due to a "modest" hike in capital
spending announced in the annual budget, earlier this month.
    Meanwhile, the cement industry has recently seen a slew of
deals by industry leaders including UltraTech and Adani Group
companies as they snap up smaller firms to deepen their presence
in the industry.
 
 ($1 = 87.1700 Indian rupees)

 (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza)
 ((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com; +918447554364;))