Polycab India, KEI Industries, Havells: Cable & wire stocks fall up to 4%; here is the likely trigger

Shares of cables and wires (C&W) companies such as Polycab India, KEI Industries, Havells India, Finolex Cables and RR Kabel were in focus on Tuesday, September 1.

The trigger is UltraTech Cement’s commencement of commercial production of wires and cables at its Gujarat facility, which has an installed capacity of around 11 lakh km.

UltraTech’s entry into the segment is expected to intensify competition for established C&W players and could put the stocks in the spotlight.

The move is part of UltraTech’s strategy to diversify its building-materials portfolio and tap the growing demand for wires and cables.

While announcing its June quarter (Q1 FY27) earnings, UltraTech Cement said its Cables and Wires business was “on track to launch in Q3 FY27”.

Of the total ₹1,800 crore investment planned for the business, the company had committed ₹888 crore as of June 2026. UltraTech has also received the required regulatory certification, while trial production of Light Duty Cables (LDC) wires is underway.

How shares were performing

At 09:51 AM, shares of KEI Industries traded 4.19% lower at ₹5,500 apiece on the NSE, while Polycab India was down 3.68% at ₹9,097.50. Havells India shares were down 2.37% at ₹1,214.60 apiece on the NSE, and Finolex Cables was trading 1.13% lower at ₹1,233.

R R Kabel, on the other hand, traded 0.26% higher at ₹2,935.90 on the NSE.

Meanwhile, UltraTech Cement shares were up 0.5% at ₹11,506 apiece.

Background

In February 2025, UltraTech Cement announced its entry into the wires and cables segment, and it would invest ₹1,800 crore to set up a plant in Gujarat over the next two years as part of plans to expand its footprint in the construction value chain.

The board of the Aditya Birla Group firm on Tuesday approved the proposal to extend its footprint in the construction value chain through its Building Products Division.

This is in accordance with the "company's strategy to strengthen its position as a comprehensive Building Solutions provider," said UltraTech.

"The Company aims to meet the growing demand for wires and cables across various sectors, including residential, commercial, infrastructure and industrial applications," it had said.

The wires and cables industry has witnessed a revenue CAGR of around 13% between FY19 to FY24, and with the migration from the unorganised to the organised market, the outlook continues to remain robust, which provides an attractive opportunity for a new trusted player in the sector, it said.

India wires and cables market size & outlook, 2026-2031

The India Wire And Cable Market size is expected to grow from $21.22 billion in 2025 to $23.13 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach $35.58 billion by 2031 at 9.01% CAGR over 2026-2031.

Housing demand, renewable-energy targets, and rapid telecom upgrades are converging to keep large-volume orders flowing to cable makers, while mandatory BIS certification is nudging buyers toward organised suppliers, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence.

Utility projects linked to the government’s pledge of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 are creating multi-year procurement pipelines for extra-high-voltage (EHV) products.

At the same time, 5G fiberisation and data-centre corridors are expanding the addressable market for low-loss optical-fiber cables.

Competitive intensity is rising as new copper smelters and backward-integration moves lower raw-material risk for large entrants, prompting incumbents to accelerate capacity and brand investments, the report adds.

How companies fared in Q1 FY27

After the Q1 show, market experts said that the Q1 FY27 earnings of the cables & wires companies were in line with expectations, while the revenue growth somewhat ‘re-rated’ the sector’s demand story.

“This is volume growth, not a base effect, and not a one-off,” said Saikat Kumar, Partner & Board Member, Red Lions Capital DIPMarket.

Although the strong Q1 performance was not just driven by volumes, the elevated prices and demand momentum from the domestic industries somewhat aided the earnings growth.

With the majority of gains driven by the higher copper prices, the companies were recording growth due to the demand momentum from sectors like power transmission and distribution, data centres, construction, and oil and gas.