A rise in input costs for cement manufacturers is expected to hit the sector’s overall operating margins by 200-230 basis points in FY22, rating agency ICRA said.

The significant inputs required in cement production are coal, petcoke and diesel. Elevated freight cost also added to the production cost.

In terms of recent trends, the all-India cement production reported an increase by 22 per cent YoY in Q2FY22 and by 10 per cent as compared to Q2FY20, supported by the strong demand from the housing segment and pick-up in infrastructure activities,” it said.