UBS upgrades India's UltraTech Cement, Ambuja Cements, Dalmia Bharat citing demand rebound

Ultratech Cement

25/03/2025 03:33

** The rough patch for India's cement sector due to demand slowdown in fiscal year 2025 and rising competition after Adani's entry is coming to an end, says UBS

** Upgrades UltraTech Cement ULTC.NS to "buy" from "neutral" and hikes price target to 13,000 rupees from 9,000 rupees

** UBS also upgrades Ambuja Cements ABUJ.NS and Dalmia Bharat DALB.NS to "buy" from "sell", while reiterating "buy" on ACC ACC.NS

** Forecasts demand to bounce back in fiscal year 2026 due to pick-up in government capex after an election-led slowdown in FY2025, housing upcycle, improving rural outlook and policy support

** Estimates core profit CAGR of 18%-43% over FY2025-27 for the four cement companies

** Expects market leaders ULTC and Adani group-owned ACC and ABUJ to have an upper hand as sectoral consolidation continues

** ULTC, ACC, Ambuja Cements shares are down 3.28%, 5.8% and 3.1%, respectively in 2025 so far; benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI is little changed over the same period

 (Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru)

 ((bharath.rajeswaran@thomsonreuters.com; +91 9769003463;))