ACC, part of the LafargeHolcim group, reported a four per cent rise in sales volumes for the first quarter of 2017 to 6.6Mt from 6.36Mt a year earlier.

The company noted that the rise in volumes came as the impact of the country’s demonetisation move declined and benefits were delivered from ACC’s ongoing customer excellence initiatives and higher sales from the expanded capacity at Jamul and Sindri plant.

Two new products were launched in February 2017, ACC Suraksha and ACC HPC (High Performance Cement) for the specialised product segment.

“With the launch of two new products in this quarter, we continue to build our specialised bussing products segment, while investing in new capacity at our Jamul plant, which is now fully commissioned and able to meet customer needs in the eastern region of the country. As the Indian economy gains momentum, we are all well positioned to reap the benefits of tax reform and investments in infrastructure development and affordable housing,” said Neeraj Akhoury, managing director and CEO of the company.

Ready-mix concrete volumes rose by eight per cent YoY, driven by a steady increase in the sale of value-added products. In addition to the residential and commercial markets, ACC’s ready-mix business has contributed to national infrastructure projects including Metro Railways in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Nagpur as well as power plants and road projects.

Sales in the year were up eight per cent YoY to INR31.08bn (US$482.1m) compared to INR28.84bn a year earlier.

However, the cost of petcoke, coal, packing materials and freight increased. ACC also reported a shortfall in the regular availability of flyash, which was procured over long leads entailing high transportation costs. As a result, operating EBITDA in 1Q17 fell 5.7 per cent YoY to INR4.17bn.

Profit before tax for the first quarter was affected by a higher depreciation charge compared to the previous year due to the commissioning of the Jamul/Sindri project in 2H16. Net profit after tax was down by nine per cent to INR2.11bn.

On its outlook for the Indian cement sector, the company said increased government spending on infrastructure development, housing, roads, railways, irrigation and other schemes as announced under the Union Budget are expected to reinvigorate the construction sector and boost demand for cement and concrete during 2017.