Source: Times Of India – Pharma, real estate to fuel demand for aluminium
Published By: TIMES OF INDIA
Covid-19 has opened new floodgates for the secondary aluminum manufacturers, said Pragun Jindal Khaitan, VC and MD at Jindal Aluminium (JAL)
“Though JAL did experience the impact of the pandemic due to lowered demand and output during April and May, starting the month of June turned a new leaf of revival, which led to a rise of 65- 70% rise in demand on an average,” said Khaitan.
“In
terms of export, JAL did not experience any increase or decrease with 15-20% of
the total output being disseminated as per demand, keeping it constant. The
first quarter of the year was stable in terms of the performance and output of
JAL, though the domestic demand was at a low,” he added.
Automobile sales will take time to pick up the pace but pharma/healthcare and
real estate will contribute to rising demand for the metal. Khaitan said
healthcare will grow even more, which will in a way require more mechanism and
machinery and as per the current agenda of ‘Make in India’ being even stronger.
“The
demand in real estate will gradually rise as the expenditure towards lifestyle
will take a backseat for a few years and asset creation amongst the current
crowd will give birth to a possibility of increased demand,” said Khaitan.
“Before Covid-19, expenditure towards lifestyle and leisure was far more than
property purchase, especially amongst the millennial. Their inclination towards
investing in property was not defined, but going by the current situation,
their outgoing finance towards travel, leisure, and conspicuous purchase has
declined. This situation has made them realize that it is their home that is
completely safe and worth investing in.”
JAL currently occupies 25-30% of the market in the extrusions category and
10-12% in the rolling division, Jindal added. Going forward, the company is
planning to expand organically. “We are looking forward to selling the same way
as we did the previous year as the plan for the next four to six months is only
to grow in an optimal method,” he said.
