Mumbai, Dec. 4 -- Cement makers such as Nuvoco Vistas, Birla Corp. and JK Lakshmi Cement are leaning on premium products to boost margins without raising prices-an approach analysts say may work for now but will likely fade as competition intensifies in the premium segment. After the goods and services tax (GST) rate on cement was rationalized, cement companies have refrained from raising prices to pass on the benefit of lower taxes to consumers, analysts said. Instead, some are relying on premiumization to protect profits amid heightened competition. India's cement industry is highly concentrated, with the top four firms controlling 60% of capacity and top nine holding 81%, according to Systematix Institutional Equities. Nuvoco Vistas, Birla Corp. and JK Lakshmi Cement-together about 9% of the 688-million-tonne industry capacity-are among the top-9 group. "We have very ambitious plans to increase premiumization, and it should improve realizations going forward," Nuvoco Vistas's managing director Jayakumar Krishnaswamy told analysts during a post-earnings call in November. Nuvoco reported a record premium mix of 44% of volume in Q2FY26, from around 41% in Q1, and plans to raise this further by 1.5-2 percentage points in the coming quarters, Krishnaswamy had said. The firm expects a Rs.25-50 per tonne improvement in net realization through internal initiatives such as shifting volumes towards states where prices and margins are better and pushing more of its premium brands. The high-margin markets for the company include Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Haryana. Realization is the net revenue a company earns on average per tonne of cement sold. Krishnaswamy said it will be difficult to raise price post GST reduction because they "are morally obligated not to tinker with prices in the short run". According to a 5 November note by B&K Securities, most dealers indicated that price hikes are unlikely in the near-term and depending on demand recovery, revisions are expected from January. Demand is likely to pick up mid-November. Nuvoco aims to grow sales of its premium brands one-fifth in Q3 over Q2 and another 10% in Q4 over Q3. A similar trend was seen in JK Lakshmi Cement. Its president and director Arun Kumar Shukla said on an earnings call last month that the premium product mix has moved from 23% in Q1FY26 to 26% in Q2FY26, and that the company is going to take it further. It expects premium products, reduced distribution cost, tech-driven efficiency initiatives at its plants, and renewable power to drive margins for the cement maker. Birla Corp., part of the MP Birla Group, continues to attribute its profitability to a stronger push into trade sales, blended cement and premium brands. This helped cushion the sharp fall in non-trade realizations in the central region post-GST adjustments. "We have improved realizations by increasing the share of our value-added and premium products," managing director and chief executive officer Sandip Ghosh told investors last month. In the cement industry, trade sales mean selling through dealers and retailers, while non-trade sales refer to selling directly to big buyers like government bodies or large construction companies for large-scale projects. Blended cement is cement made by mixing regular cement with other materials like fly ash or slag that makes it more durable and cheaper. Ghosh said the company considers its presence across both value and premium segments a strategic advantage, especially as rivals are only now beginning to expand their premium portfolios....