Displaying items by tag: Adani Group

Ethiopia/India: Sinoma International Engineering and its subsidiaries have signed contracts to upgrade cement plants for Ethiopia-based Derba MIDROC Cement and India-based Ambuja Cement.

Sinoma International Engineering has signed a contract worth US$290m with Derba MIDROC Cement to build a 5000t/day clinker production line at the cement producer’s plant at Deba in Oromia. The project includes supplying a full line from raw material crushing to cement packaging. Once payment conditions are confirmed the project should take around 30 months.

Ambuja Cement has signed a contract with Sinoma subsidiary Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute (Sinoma TCDRI) to supply upgrades to its integrated Bhatapara plant in Chhattisgarh and its Farakka and Sankrail grinding plants in West Bengal. The clinker plant’s production capacity will be expanded to 4Mt/yr and both grinding plants will be increased to 2Mt/yr respectively. The value of the contract is around US$285m. Schedules for the proposed work will be agreed subject to further negotiation.

India: Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC have transitioned to reporting their results in line with the (April - March) Indian financial year. As such, they have published 15-month results for 2022 and the first quarter of 2023. During the period, Ambuja Cements reported sales of US$4.75bn, up by 34% year-on-year from US$3.53bn. Its cement volumes rose by 28% to 68Mt, while its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11% to US$714m. Meanwhile, ACC recorded sales of US$2.71bn, up by 38% from US$1.97bn in 2021. Its cement volumes rose by 31% to 37.9Mt, while its EBITDA fell by 30% to US$275m.

ACC announced its goal to become India's 'most profitable cement company.' To realise this, the company will implement a three-pronged strategy of capacity expansion, efficiency improvements and development of its distributor and dealer network. Under the capacity expansion heading, the producer will double its production capacity through the construction of new cement plants and the expansion of existing ones. In this, it will lay special emphasis on securing supplies of renewable energy and supplementary cementitious materials, including fly ash from its own power plant segment. The company noted that it recently secured access to 1Bnt-worth of new limestone reserves in Maharashtra, Odisha, Karnataka and Rajasthan. It will also seek to increase its coal production to avoid the rising cost of imports.

In the 2024 financial year, the government of India plans to invest US$11.4bn in the construction of new housing, roads and sanitation infrastructure nationally. Ambuja Cements has forecast an increase in domestic cement consumption of 6 - 8% to over 390Mt/yr. It expects Indian cement production to rise by 8 - 10% year-on-year to 390Mt in the 2024 financial year.

India/US: The US Attorney's Office has requested that large Adani Group shareholders submit correspondence from the group. Reuters has reported that the office is investigating representations made by India-based Adani to its US investors, following fraud allegations by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research.

An Adani Group spokesperson said "We are not aware of any such subpoena to investors."

India: Adani Group has reportedly entered discussions with five banks in a search to refinance US$3.8bn-worth of loans taken for its acquisition of Holcim India. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the group aims to secure funding by mid-July 2023. Potential participants in the refinancing round reportedly include Malaysia and Taiwan-based banks, as well as existing lenders Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered.

India: Adani Group has taken a total US$2.33bn-worth of new loans over the two-and-a-half month period since the publication of a report into the group's activities by US-based shortseller Hindenburg Research on 24 January 2023. The report concluded with a finding of 'numerous issues of suspected fraud' by Adani Group. Adani Group explained at the time that all findings were 'stale, baseless and discredited.' The Times of India newspaper has reported that the group's net debt rose by 17% year-on-year to US$22.6bn on 8 June 2023. Adani Group's energy sector subsidiaries raised US$2.01bn-worth (86%) of the debt.

Adani Group completely paid off loans used in its US$6.4bn acquisition of Holcim India on 6 June 2023.

India: Adani Cement has withdrawn its membership of the Indian cement industry association, the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). Adani Cement is India’s second biggest cement producer. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that ACC and Ambuja Cements, which Adani Cement acquired in September 2022, have not shared their production and sales data with the CMA for ‘a few years.’

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: Adani Cement subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cements have launched the Cement and Concrete Research and Development Facility at Kalamboli in Maharashtra. Dion News Service has reported that the focus of the centre will lie in product development, productivity enhancement and increasing the efficiency of cement and concrete production.

Adani Cement CEO Ajay Kapur said "Our new research and development facility is our reinforcement towards our collective commitment to pushing boundaries, driving innovation, and addressing industry challenges."

India: Indian industrial companies plan to increase their capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments by 14% year-on-year in the current, 2024, financial year, the Financial Express newspaper has reported. UltraTech Cement says that it will more than double its CAPEX investments to US$1.55bn during the year (1 April 2023 - 31 March 2024). Adani Green Energy, the renewable electricity subsidiary of Ambuja Cements' parent company Adani Group, has the highest planned investments of any Indian industrial company. It also plans to more than double its CAPEX spending, to US$1.69bn in the 2024 financial year.