Displaying items by tag: Birla

India: Birla Corporation has announced plans for a 92% increase of its installed cement production capacity to 30Mt/yr by 2027 from 15.6Mt/yr. The company’s upcoming 3.9Mt/yr Mukutban cement plant near Nagpur, Maharashtra, is scheduled for commissioning in early 2022. The impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak increased the project’s cost by 12% to US$370m from US$330m. The Times of India has reported that the group’s next phase of expansion will focus on the operations of the former Reliance Cement Company. Birla Corporation acquired the company in 2016.

India: Authorities in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, have closed an unauthorised cement plant in connection with a crackdown on illegal production facilities in the state. The unit, reported to have been in operation for several years, was closed following a tip-off.

The investigating team confiscated more than 500 bags of adulterated cement bearing familiar brand logos, including Ambuja Cement, ACC, Birla and UltraTech Cement. In addition to mixing cement with inert materials, the authorities believe that the unit engaged in the re-sale of cement that had expired and thus could not be guaranteed to reach its designated strength in use.

Fake cement, produced by mixing genuine cement with cheaper inert materials like marble dust and artificial pigments before repacking and selling to an unsuspecting public, presents a major and growing risk to consumers of cement in India.

India: Birla Corporation’s revenue rose by 42% year-on-year to US$237m in the quarter of 30 June 2021 from US$167m in the same period in 2020. Sales volumes of cement increased by 38% to 3.35Mt from 2.42Mt. However, it noted that its sales volumes were 8% lower than the same period in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 40% to US$47.6m from US$34.0m. The cement producer said, “Better management of the lockdown this year, both by the company and the [government] administration, helped mitigate the effects of restrictions imposed in the areas of operations of the company relative to last year.” It added that construction work had continued to be delayed on its new 3.9Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Mukutban, Maharashtra due to the second wave of coronavirus.

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.

India: Birla Corporation’s consolidated revenue fell by 1.6% year-on-year to US$936m in its 2021 financial year that ended on 31 March 2021 from US$951m in its 2020 financial year. Its cement sales volumes decreased by 1.8% to 13.4Mt from 13.6Mt. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 1.2% to US$195m from US$193m. It blamed falling sales on the coronavarus pandemic but it said it was able to increase earnings and profits by ‘aggressively’ rationalising costs.

"In the light of the massive disruptions faced at the beginning of the financial year, the 2021 financial year wasn't disappointing from the standpoint of profitability. Our performance reflected the resilience we have built over the years to external shocks. We also benefited from the stimulus provided by the government. But in the wake of the second wave of the pandemic, the year ahead looks more challenging. To my mind, India's ability to contain the pandemic through rapid inoculation and other means holds the key to economic revival," said Harsh Vardhan Lodha, chairman of Birla Corporation.

The cement producer also said that work on its new 3.9Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Mukutban, Maharashtra had been delayed due to a shortage of workers related to the ongoing health crisis. The plant is currently scheduled for commissioning by the end of the 2021 calendar year.

India: Birla Corporation has commissioned a 28MW solar power plant at a cement plant in Uttar Pradesh. EQ International has reported that Waaree Energies supplied 330kW and 335kW solar modules for the project. The subsidiary of Waaree Group is one of the largest solar photovoltaic module manufacturers in the country.

India: Birla Corporation has appointed Arvind Pathak as its managing director and chief executive director (CEO). He will succeed Pracheta Majumdar from 31 March 2021.
Pathak holds 36 years of experience in the cement industry. He has held CEO or equivalent positions for over 14 years in various large organisations which include ACC, Dangote Cement, Adani and Reliance Group. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi and a postgraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and Management. He has also been trained in a number of international management institutions.

India: Birla Corporation recorded a net profit of US$52.2m in the nine-month period which ended on 31 December 2020, up by 23% year-on-year from US$42.6m in the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell by 10% to US$650m from US$724m, while earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2% to US$141m from US$144m.

India: Birla Corporation plans to raise US$20m through redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCD). It has allotted 1500 NCDs with a value of around US$13,500 on a private placement basis. The producer announced plans in August 2020 for an upgrade to its Durgapur grinding plant in West Bengal.

India: A public hearing over Birla Corporation subsidiary Reliance Cement’s planned 3.9Mt/yr Mukutban cement plant in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra has raised objections against the company’s quarry plans. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the plant is due to source its limestone from a 7.6km² quarry in Korpana, Chandrapur district. Critics say that the company has failed to complete a wildlife management plan, and that the site of the mine lies on a 120km wildlife corridor between the Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary and the Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary in neighbouring Telangana. Reliance Cement said that an environmental report had shown the presence of no scheduled species within 10km of the proposed site.

Maharashtra state wildlife board member and honorary wildlife warden Bandu Dhore said, “Although there is no forest area under the proposed mining site, it acts as a regular corridor as there is forest on either side within 1km. We are pursuing the matter with the forest department and would press it with higher officials to ensure that the precious corridor remains undisturbed. Protection of corridors is a must for conservation of wildlife and hence we are going to raise the demand of re-survey of the project site from the wildlife point of view.”