Religare Institutional Research believes that amidst strong demand and a subsequent pick-up in cement prices (avg. 3% QoQ), it expect most companies to report a QoQ improvement in EBITDA/t for Q1FY15 (avg. +Rs 90 QoQ; ACC/ Ambuja Cement/Ultratech to see an Rs 130/Rs 40/Rs 60 QoQ increase).

''On a YoY basis too, better volumes and profitability should lead to aggregate topline/EBITDA/PAT growth of 12%/10%/5%,'' it said.

''Given the strong demand/price momentum likely in the next 2-3 years, we expect the cement sector to remain on investor radar. With construction activity gathering pace in the last 2 quarters, we see a sustained pick-up in volumes as the infra activity picks up in the economy,'' it added.

''We forecast a demand CAGR of 9-10% over FY14-FY17, driving sustained strength in pricing (CAGR of 7-8% over FY14-FY17) and profitability improvement. We roll over to Sep'15 targets with Ultratech Cement, Shree Cement, JK Lakshmi and Orient Cement as our top picks in the run-up to the results,'' it added.

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