Displaying items by tag: India
India: The India Cements recorded full-year consolidated net sales of US$619m in the 2021 financial year, down by 13% year-on-year from US$712m. Cement sales volumes fell by 19% to 8.9Mt from 11Mt, which it blamed on production overcapacity in the south of the country. Its profit after taxes, minority interests and share of profit of associates was US$28.6m, more than triple the figure for the 2020 financial year of US$7.34m. The cement producer warned that, despite an economic recovery following the first wave of coronavirus, it expected an uncertain outlook with the current second wave of the epidemic.
India: Shree Cement’s full-year consolidated net sales rose by 5% year-on-year to US$1.85bn in the 2021 financial year from US$1.77bn in the 2020 financial year. Its profit for the period increased by 48% to US$314m from US$212m.
Nepal forecast to require 26Mt/yr by 2024 - 2025
24 May 2021Nepal: A report by the Nepal Rastra Bank has estimated that Nepal will require 26Mt/yr of cement by the 2024 – 25 financial year due to large-scale infrastructure projects. However, current production before the coronavirus pandemic was around 7.5Mt/yr despite the country’s production capacity of 15Mt/yr, according to the Kathmandu Post newspaper. Domestic consumption is 9Mt with around 1.5Mt of demand supplied from imports, mainly from India. The report added that most of the large projects in Nepal used cement imported from India due to issues with certification, consistent quality and the inability of local producers to offer bulk supply. In 2019 the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies forecast that the country’s cement production capacity could increase to 20Mt/yr by the end of the 2023 – 24 year.
Dhruba Raj Thapa, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nepal, said that the data in the report by the bank contained errors. He pointed out that the country has a cement production capacity of 22Mt/yr and that it is already self-sufficient in the commodity. He also refuted the claims that infrastructure projects prefer imported cement.
OPGC dispatches fly ash to ACC
24 May 2021India: Power company OPGC has dispatched its first shipment of fly ash to ACC’s Jhinkpani cement plant in West Singhbhum district, Jharkhand. The Pioneer newspaper has reported that the shipment consists of 3450t of fly ash from its Ib power plant. The power plant has fly ash storage facilities with a capacity of 6900t. It previously supplied ash to a Star Cement cement plant in Assam.
India: Cement demand will drop by an estimated 20% year-on-year in the three months up to 30 June 2021, the first quarter of the 2022 financial year in India. Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has attributed the projected decrease to a significant drop in rural housing’s bagged cement uptake due to state governments’ coronavirus lockdowns, which prevent retailers from opening. The Hindu newspaper has reported that this type of construction previously generated one third of demand. Segments such as urban housing, commercial construction and infrastructure will be less affected, according to the forecast.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet implemented a national lockdown in response to the country’s second wave of coronavirus. New cases numbered 264,000 on 17 May 2021, down by 20% week-on-week from 330,000 on 10 May 2021.
India: Prism Johnson has added a proposed addition of 1Mt/yr to the cement grinding production capacity at its 5.6Mt/yr integrated plant at Satna in Madhya Pradesh. The project is expected to cost around US$34m with a scheduled commissioning date by September 2023. In January 2021 the cement producer said it was considering investing US$19m in a 0.9Mt/yr expansion to the Satna plant with a commissioning date by December 2021.
India: A high court has ruled that all cement producers have the right to use common words on their cement bags, even where those words are trademarked by another producer. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has until mid-July 2021 to respond to the ruling. JK Cement previously launched the legal action against the BIS’s blanket ban on trademarked words including ‘super,’ ‘strong,’ 'damp-proof,' 'corrosion-proof' and 'weather shield.'
Ramco Cements commissions US$68,500 oxygen plant to help fight against Covid-19 outbreak
18 May 2021India: Ramco Cements has commissioned a 48 cylinder/day oxygen plant at its Ramasamy Raja Nagar cement plant in Virudhunagar district, Tamil Nadu. It is donating the oxygen to local hospitals treating Covid-19 patients. The cost of the plant was US$68,500. Each 45l cylinder has a useful life of 10 – 12 hours. The company says that the new plant will save around 24 lives a day.
India: Penna Cement has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) worth US$212m. It plans to offer US$34m-worth of shares for sale and to issue equity shares worth US$177m. United News of India has reported that part of the money raised will fund capital expenditure (capex) investments worth US$58m. The company’s plans consist of a second line at its Krishnapatnam grinding plant in Andhra Pradesh, an upgrade of raw materials and clinker grinding at its integrated Talaricheruvu plant in Andhra Pradesh, and new waste heat recovery (WHR) units at its Talaricherevu plant and its integrated Tandur plant in Telangana. It additionally plans to repay previous loans.
India: Birla Corporation’s board of directors has approved the issuance of up to US$27.3m-worth of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The Telegraph newspaper has reported that the company will issue the NCDs in one or more tranches before May 2022.