Displaying items by tag: Ambuja Cements

India: Ambuja Cement’s sales rose by 8.4% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2023, to US$520m, from US$483m in the first quarter of 2022. The company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined marginally to US$96.4m. Costs rose by 12% to US$453m from US$404m.

During the quarter under review, Ambuja Cement made a milestone payment on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract under its planned capacity expansion strategy. It subsequently foreclosed the contract, recovering its US$222m advance, ‘in cognisance’ of on-going investigations into its parent company Adani Group.

Ambuja Cement’s chief executive officer Ajay Kapur said "We are pleased to report another strong performance of Ambuja Cement, which has been driven by our strategic initiatives on business excellence, operational efficiencies and synergies. Our focus on operational excellence and cost optimisation measures has yielded improved profitability. We have been able to maintain our growth trajectory and further strengthen our position in the market. With the rise in construction activities across our markets, we see the continuation of the elevated demand and strong volumes in the coming quarters as well.”

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.'

India: Ambuja Cements' parent company Adani Group says that the cement producer aims to more than double its sales to US$8.5bn in 2028. Ambuja Cements currently expects to record sales of US$3.61bn in 2023. It is targeting an earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 25% in 2028. Its EBITDA margin averaged 19% in the period from 2020 to 2022.

Dow Jones Institutional News has reported that Ambuja Cements' internal accruals are sufficient to fund US$5.58bn in capital expenditure (CAPEX) over the same period, according to the company. It says that it plans to double its capacity through CAPEX investments before 2028.

India: Adani Cement has won four awards at the Occupational Health, Safety and Sustainability Association of India (OHSSAI) Awards 2023. The producer won two manufacturing sector awards - the OHSSAAI Safety Silver Award and the OHSSAI Road Safety Gold Award - and two individual awards. The individual awards went to Ambuja Cements' chief operating officer Sukuru Ramarao, who won the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Leadership Award, and Ambuja Cements' head of safety, manufacturing and logistics Pankaj Singh, who won the HSE Mentor of the Year Award for his contributions to road safety.

Adani Cement CEO Ajay Kapur said "We are proud to be recognised by OHSSAI for our safety achievements. Safety is an integral part of our overall business strategy, and we are committed to continually improving our safety performance and achieving excellence in all areas of our operations. Safety is everyone's responsibility, and we are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace for our employees."

India: Adani Group has entered talks with lenders for the sale of a 4 - 5% stake in Ambuja Cements. Adani holds a 63% stake in the producer, which it acquired from Switzerland-based Holcim in 2022. The Financial Times newspaper has reported that the move is intended to reduce debt and restore investor confidence in Adani Group.

The Hindu Business Line newspaper has named US-based asset management company GQG Partners as a probable buyer for the stake.

US-based short seller Hindenburg Research alleged fraud and stock market manipulation by Adani Group in a report published on 24 January 2023.

India: Adani Group told investors that it repaid a US$500m bridge loan for its acquisition of ACC and Ambuja Cements on 7 March 2023. The deal was completed in September 2022, and payment on the loan was due by 9 March 2023 at the latest. UK-based Barclays and Standard Chartered and Germany-based Deutsche Bank underwrote the loan.

Business Today Online News has reported that Adani Group is seeking to pre-pay its loans in order to allay investor concerns about its debt.

India: Adani Group is planning to build two new cement plants in Andhra Pradesh with a combined production capacity of 10Mt/yr. Karan Adani, the son of the group’s founder Gautam Adani, made the announcement, among a slate of new investments being developed for the state, according to Business Today. At present the group does not have any cement production plants in Andhra Pradesh, although it does operate two ports at Krishnapatnam and Gangavaram respectively. The other projects include renewable power units with a capacity of 15,000MW and data centres.