Displaying items by tag: ACC

Taiwan Cement said this week that it is aiming for cement to account for less than half of its sales by 2025. At the annual shareholders’ meeting chair Nelson Chang defended the cement sector as a core business but said that the company was expanding more into the green energy sector through its energy storage and vehicle charging lines. Chang directly linked the strategy to growing carbon taxes around the world, such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, where the carbon price has been occasionally close to pushing past Euro100/t since early 2022. Taiwan Cement formed a joint venture with Türkiye-based Oyak Group in 2018 that runs Cimpor in Portugal.

Table 1: Cement business share by revenue of selected cement producers. Source: Corporate annual reports.

Taiwan Cement’s plan to decrease its reliance on cement is becoming a familiar one. Holcim notably revealed in 2021 that it was growing its light building materials division. Its cement division represented 60% of sales in 2020 with concrete and aggregates making up most of the rest to 92% and the remaining 8% on other products including light building materials. This started to change with the acquisition of roofing and building envelope producer Firestone Building Products in 2021. Other similar acquisitions have followed. Holcim’s current target is to grow the Solutions & Products division to around 30% by 2025, with cement reduced to somewhere between a third and half of sales. Earlier this year Japan-based Taiheiyo Cement said it was doing a similar thing as part of its medium-term strategy to 2035. In its case cement represented 70% of its sales in 2022 but it is now aiming to reduce this to 65% by 2025 and 50% by 2035.

A common pattern for the business composition of European cement companies is a mixture of heavy building materials made up of cement, concrete and aggregate. However, not every cement company follows the same route. Some cement companies are simply parts of larger conglomerates. UltraTech Cement, for example, is mostly just a cement company. However, it is also part of Aditya Birla Group, which runs a wide range of industries including chemicals, textiles, financial services, telecoms, mining and more. Depending on how one looks at it, UltraTech Cement’s cement business ratio is large or Aditya Birla Group’s ratio is small. Siam Cement Group (SCG) in Thailand is another example of a cement producer operated by a conglomerate with other major businesses.

A different approach that some cement producers take is to mix cement production with complimentary businesses outside of heavy building materials. A good example of this is Votorantim Cement in Brazil, which manufactures cement and steel. Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) is another Brazil-based cement producer that is also well known for steel production. Adani Group in India, meanwhile, was well known for logistics, power generation and airports before it purchased Ambuja Cements and ACC from Holcim in 2022.

The driver for cement companies looking to reduce cement as a proportion of their businesses has varied between the three examples presented above. Holcim’s approach has been in response to growing European carbon costs but it also fits with a general desire to broaden its business as the company has sought to reshape itself following the merger between Lafarge and Holcim. Taiheiyo Cement’s plans also have a sustainability angle but the Japanese market has been in slow decline since the 1990s and this has been made worse by the spike in energy prices since 2022. Investing in new businesses makes sense for either of these reasons. Lastly, Taiwan Cement says it is taking action in response to carbon prices around the world. However, its proximity to many other large-scale producers in the Far East may also be a factor. Whether more companies follow suit and also start to reduce the ratio of their cement businesses remains to be seen. Yet, mounting carbon taxes and global production overcapacity look set to make more of the larger cement producers consider their options in certain places.

India: Adani Group repaid loans worth a total of US$2.65bn on 6 June 2023, with a total interest payment of US$700m. Accord Fintech News has reported that the sum includes prepayment of loans worth US$700m used to acquire Holcim India, alongside other loans. This completes the group's prepayment of loans taken for the acquisition, which it completed in September 2022.

India: Adani Group plans to grow ACC and Ambuja Cements' capacity to 140Mt/yr by 2028 under a joint expansion strategy. The Hindu newspaper has reported that new strategy includes capital expenditure with a value of US$5.58bn and new acquisitions. Investments will reportedly be split equally between the two subsidiaries. After completion of the current growth plan, the cement producers will 'pause for a while' prior to any subsequent expansion phase.

Adani Group said that it is proceeding with an operational merger of ACC and Ambuja Cements, without merging their distinct brands. The priority of the merger will be to increase efficiency in supply chains and logistics operations.

India: ACC has blamed a drop in earnings in the fourth quarter of its financial year on higher fuel prices. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 15% year-on-year to US$71.9m in the quarter that ended in March 2023 from US$64.7m in the same period in 2022. However, it said that fuel prices were expected to drop due to synergies with other subsidiaries within Adani Group. It is also working on reducing operational costs by reducing its clinker factor, logistics costs and growing sales of blended cement products. It added that it had reduced its kiln fuel cost by 10% in the fourth quarter by taking the measures mentioned above and by increasing its use of alternative fuels.

The company changed its financial year to one ending in March 2023 during the reporting period. Its calculated net revenue rose by 10% year-on-year to US$2.16bn for its 2023 financial year that ended on 31 March 2023 compared to US$1.97bn in the previous 12 months. Its cement and clinker sale volumes grew by 6% to 31Mt from 29Mt.

Ajay Kapur, the chief executive officer of ACC, said “Our transformation journey fuelled by sizeable operational efficiencies, improved synergies and business excellence has led to substantial improvement in our financial performance and overall business indicators. We have a detailed blueprint on each of the cost factors and initiatives to reduce and improve.”

India: Adani Cement has appointed Praveen Garg appointed as its Chief Logistics Officer. He previously worked for Vicat for over a decade in a variety of logistics roles. Before this he worked for ACC in logistics and shipping positions. Garg is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta and the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur.

India: ACC’s Jamul, Thondebhavi and Tikaria cement plants have won safety prizes at the National Safety Council of India (NSCI)’s Safety, Health and Environment Convention (SHECON) 2023. Press in attendance reported that the 1.6Mt/yr Thondebhavi plant in Karnataka won a safety award and a bronze trophy for implementation of its occupational safety and health (OSH) plan. Meanwhile, the 1.6Mt/yr Jamul plant in Chhattisgarh won a letter of commendation and the 3Mt/yr Tikaria grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh won a certificate of recognition.

Adani Group’s cement business CEO Ajay Kapur said "We are honoured to have been recognised by the NSCI with three prestigious awards for our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of our employees, and we are proud to be recognised for our efforts. With a strong emphasis on occupational health and safety, we have a robust safety management system in place."

India: Adani Group is legally ‘paving the way’ for an eventual merger of its cement subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cements into Adani Cement. The Hindu BusinessLine News has reported that the merger is not likely to reach completion before April 2024.

Adani Group holds a 63% stake in Ambuja Cements, which in turn holds a 50% in ACC. Adani Group additionally holds a 6.7% direct stake in ACC.

India: Adani Group says that it will raise funds for its 2028 capacity expansion plan through internal accruals. The producer plans to double its cement capacity to 140Mt/yr by 2028, and also double its sales to US$8.5bn that year. The Financial Express newspaper has reported that the group says its internal accruals will be 'sufficient' to realise its aims. The group is reportedly 'on track' to commence the first phase of the planned expansion in early-mid-2023. It has also set out a cost reduction roadmap with a view to becoming India's most profitable cement company.

Chair Gautam Adani says that he anticipates a 'multi-fold rise' in all-Indian cement consumption due to forecast high economic growth and the government's infrastructure spending plans.

India: Adani Group has reportedly relocated 'significant roles' in ACC and Ambuja Cements to Ahmedabad, Gujarat. ACC and Ambuja Cements' headquarters are situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra, and employ 6000 and 4700 people respectively. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that many people in leadership positions now based in Ahmedabad continue to run teams in Mumbai.

India: Adani Group is rumoured to have entered negotiations to extend the repayment duration of its US$4bn loan for the acquisition of Holcim's Indian business. The group secured the funds in August 2022. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the group is seeking to extend the duration of its repayments from 18 months to at least five years. It is reportedly also seeking a similar extension for a parallel US$1bn mezzanine loan tranche.

Adani Group described the rumour as 'incorrect.'