Cement sector to face further consolidation in near-to-medium term: Report

The Indian cement industry, which is witnessing aggressive acquisitions by two of its leading players - Adani group's Ambuja Cement and Aditya Birla's UltraTech, will have further consolidation in the near-to-medium term, according to a report.

In the report, rating agency Ind-Ra said that the aggressive medium-term capacity targets of leading players are unlikely to be fully achieved organically and the industry is likely to witness an increase in the competitive intensity.

This will also lead to some pricing pressure due to which the gap between leading and small players could continue to widen given the wider presence and better cost efficiencies for large players, India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said.

"Ind-Ra expects the cement sector to witness further consolidation in the near-to-medium term, given the aggressive medium-term capacity targets of leading players that are unlikely to be fully achieved organically," the report said.

The rating agency said it also expects dema