Ambuja’s plan to spur market share will be a tightrope walk

Ambuja Cements Ltd is chasing both volume growth and operational efficiencies.

- Harsha Jethmalani

It now plans to scale cement capacity from around 97 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in FY25 to nearly 155 mtpa by FY28, versus the earlier target of 140 mtpa.

The incremental capacity of 15 mtpa will be achieved by debottlenecking at existing plants at a lower capital expenditure of $48 a tonne. Ambuja's target implies a 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in capacity over FY25-FY28. This would be challenging in the backdrop of potential cement demand CAGR of 7-7.5% during the period, and the low utilization of around 64%, said a DAM Capital report.