Date:06/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/09/06/stories/2006090603211500.htm

Back Cement: Floods may affect dispatch

Floods in key States may impact growth in dispatches for some cement companies, marketmen say, while referring to figures recorded recently by majors such as ACC, Gujarat Ambuja, UltraTech and Grasim. While ACC's dispatches for August grew by 3.8 per cent to 13.5 lakh tonnes, Gujarat Ambuja, the most affected player, reported a 4 per cent decline in dispatches to 9.39 lakh tonnes.

Its top markets - Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan - have seen major floods. The A V Birla group outfits, nonetheless, clocked a 4.9 per cent growth on this front. This is especially because the group is on the whole a dominant force in Central, Eastern and Southern regions, where the rainy season has not been that abnormal so far.

Nilanjan Dey