20 October 2015
UltraTech Cement’s second quarter net profit up by 3% 20 October 2015
India: Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech Cement has reported 3% year-on-year growth in its consolidated net profit at US$65.8m for the quarter that ended on 30 September 2015, helped by increased sales and better operating margins.
UltraTech Cement's total income rose by 4% to US$927m in the quarter. Its domestic cement sales volume increased by 5% year-on-year. While operating costs were lower due to lower energy costs, the benefit was partially offset due to the District Mineral Foundation levy in terms of provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development) Amendment Act, 2015.
UltraTech said that its capital expenditure programme is on track. During the quarter, it commissioned a 1.6Mt/yr grinding plant in Jhajjar, Haryana and a 1.6Mt/yr grinding plant in Dankuni, West Bengal. "As a result, the cement capacity is enhanced to 64.7Mt/yr in India. The company also commissioned a 2Mt/yr bulk terminal on outskirts of Pune. With the further commissioning of a 5MW waste heat recovery system in Rawan, Chhattisgarh, power generation from waste heat recovery is augmented to 53MW," said the company in a statement.
UltraTech Cement expects cement demand to pick up in the October 2015 – March 2016 period. "With the governments' focus on infrastructure development, housing sector, smart cities and roads, among others, UltraTech Cement is well positioned across the country to meet the expected rise in demand and participate in the next phase of growth in the country," said UltraTech Cement.
Orient Cement’s net profit falls by 35% 20 October 2015
India: CK Birla's Orient Cement has reported a 35.4% year-on-year decline in its net profit to US$4.32m for the quarter that ended on 30 September 2015 due to lower income and higher expenses and finance costs.
Orient Cement's net sales fell to US$54.7m in the quarter compared to US$59.2m in the same quarter of its previous fiscal year. The company's total expenditure rose to US$51m from US$49m in the same period of 2014.
As part of the growth plan to reach 15Mt/yr capacity by 2020, Orient Cement is setting up a 3Mt/yr capacity plant in Chittapur, Gulbarga for US$308m.
India: Industries Minister Jupally Krishna Rao and IT Minister K T Rama Rao have held consultations with cement manufacturers in Hyderabad to discuss the supply of cement for white topping roads and other civil works.
White topping is considered a cost-effective and sustainable construction method. The advantage of white topping technology is the reduced thickness, reduced / zero maintenance, and long life of 25 - 30 years without maintenance. It has not been used previously due to the non-availability of cement and mechanised equipment. Using this technology, one inch of the existing road is scraped off, concrete with fibre is laid, sprayed with powder, curing and groove cutting is done to avoid cracks and expansions.
The plan is to lay 400 - 500km road in Hyderabad in two months. The meeting was called to negotiate on the cement prices. The Ministers requested the producers to re-consider and give a lower quote, keeping in view the high amount of work that is being taken up for roads, as well as construction of houses.
The IT Minister also stated that they intended to take this technology to districts and villages and in future would convert all roads from BT to CC Road with white-topping technology.
Dalmia Bharat Cement enters Karnataka to boost sales in south 20 October 2015
India: Dalmia Bharat Cement expects to improve its share of cement sales from south India by entering the Karnataka market.
"As we enter the lucrative Karnataka market, we expect to do well. The southern region has already witnessed 1.2% growth over the last year compared to the industry's country-wide sales growth of around 5%," said Mahendra Singhi, Dalmia Bharat Cement's CEO.
Dalmia Bharat Cement has commenced operations at its US$200m, 2.5Mt/yr greenfield cement plant in Belgaum and launched its 'superior grade cement' in the Karnataka market. Karnataka accounts for 5% of the total Indian cement market. "The company has engaged 300 dealers in the region, who will be supported with end-to-end marketing, technical and logistics support," said Singhi.
The plant in Karnataka is Dalmia Bharat Cement's 11th manufacturing plant in the country, making it the third-largest cement group in India with 24Mt/yr capacity. "We have a strong market presence in super-specialty cements used for oil wells, railway sleepers and air strips and are the country's largest producer of slag cement," said Singhi.
Dangote Cement in Tanzania coal deal 20 October 2015
Tanzania: Dangote Cement has signed two agreements that will enable its US$600m cement plant in Tanzania to generate 150MW from coal.
One agreement is with Tancoal. Dangote Cement has also signed a coal prospecting licence for a site in Mbinga. However, the plant will first run on diesel until it is able to generate its own electricity from coal.
The deals ends a year-long dispute between the government and the cement plant after Tanesco failed to provide electricity. The plant was considering importing coal from South Africa, which was a cheaper option than buying it from the area.
The cement plant is expected to reduce cement prices by 50% once production commences in early 2016. It will take advantage of the growing construction industry, which contributes 12.5% to the country's GDP. It will offer more than 1500 direct jobs and 9000 indirectly.