Demand is good from tier-II, III and rural India, said HM Bangur, MD of Shree Cement, said in an interview with CNBC-TV18. He added that demand in North and East India was very good.

“Tier-I cities are having some problem as far as builders are there. They are not getting as good demand,” Bangur said.

“But overall, I can say as East there is less urbanization, the demand was better. North India the demand was good. South India we are seeing very good demand because it was a plant which was being matured. So, overall in future quarters also such demand should be there,” he said.

On sales volume, Bangur said that the growth has come from new plants. “South India our volume is 85 percent or so because south last year was a new plant only taking its roots. Similarly in East India. So, now about 25 million will be our volume,” he said.

Bangur said that EBITDA per tonne has to be more than Rs 1,500 for plants to be viable. “In the commodity industry, we can talk more about our cost. EBITDA is a matter of sales price which will be fluctuating up and down. We are taking 4 percent price hike year-on-year (YoY). So, EBITDA to be sustainable has to be more than Rs 1,500, otherwise new plants will not become viable,” he said.

Bangur also said that October-December will be much better than last year.

(Edited by : Santosh Nair)