Displaying items by tag: Chettinad Cements
Anjani Portland Cement commissions 16MW captive power plant
12 January 2017India: Anjani Portland Cement has commissioned a 16MW coal powered captive power plant at its cement plant in Anjani Puram. The cement producer operates a 1.3Mt/yr plant and is a subsidiary of Chettinad Cement.
Lafarge’s Indian divestments receive six bids
20 May 2015India: Six foreign and domestic cement companies, along with one private equity firm, have expressed interest in buying the assets that Lafarge is divesting in India before it closes its merger with Holcim. The bids were in excess of US$627m.
The deadline for submitting non-binding bids for the assets expired on 16 May 2015. Ahead of that deadline, local media reported that bids came from Shree Cement, Chettinad Cement, HeidelbergCement India, The Ramco Cements, CRH and Blackstone Group.
As a precondition to clearing Indian leg of the LafargeHolcim, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) directed Lafarge to sell two of its assets in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. These are a cement plant at Sonadih, Chhattisgarh and a grinding plant at Jojobera, Jharkhand, with a total capacity of approximately 5Mt/yr. In its directions, the CCI said that Lafarge should sell its assets 'to relatively smaller players, having an installed capacity of less than 5% of their total capacity in the relevant geographic market.'
With the non-binding bids in, Lafarge is likely to shortlist bidders by the middle of June 2015. The deal is likely to be concluded in July 2015.
Chettinad Cement prepares for US$616m expansion plans
18 September 2014India: Chettinad Cement Corporation is moving forward with plans for projects in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka costing a total of US$616m.
The Indian cement producer is building a greenfield 3.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh at a cost of US$181m. It is expanding its cement plant at Gulbarga in Karnataka to 5.75Mt/yr from 2.5Mt/yr and adding a 130MW captive thermal power plant at a cost of US$330m. It is also building two 2Mt/yr grinding plants and two 50MW thermal power plants at Solapur, Maharashtra at a cost of US$108m.
Chettinad Cement has received all the necessary clearances for its greenfield project in Andhra Pradesh and an expansion project in Karnataka, according to local media. The projects in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are expected to be operational within three years of the start of construction. The company has acquired 1000 acres for its proposed cement plant in Andhra Pradesh and 120 acres for its grinding plant in Maharashtra.
"In the last 20 years, the installed capacity of the cement units has increased from 1Mt/yr to 13.5Mt/yr. With the commissioning of new and expanded units, it is possible to scale up to 20Mt/yr,'' said Chettinad Cement Group Managing Director MAMR Muthiah.
Muthiah added that the company had a debt-equity ratio of 1:1. The upcoming projects will be financed through a combination of debt and internal accruals. Chettinad Cement is also considering expansion opportunities in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. At present, Chettinad Cement is currently operating at 50% of its production capacity due to 'sluggish' market conditions.
MAM Ramaswamy removed from Chettinad board
03 September 2014India: The succession battle within the Chettinad group of companies has culminated in the removal of chairman MAM Ramaswamy from the board of its flagship enterprise, a position he has held for more than three decades.
A resolution to reappoint Ramaswamy was defeated at the 51st shareholders meeting of the Chettinad Cement Corporation on 27 August 2014. However, Ramaswamy was later named as chairman emeritus by his foster son and managing director MAMR Muthiah, who has taken over the reins.
An official statement from the group said, "In acknowledgement of his contribution at the helm of the company's operations until 1999, the managing director announced that Ramaswamy would be appointed as chairman emeritus for life."
Muthiah, who has powered the group's expansion over the last decade in cement, healthcare and logistics, has instilled a managerial culture that is in sharp contrast to the conservative approach favoured by Ramaswamy. Muthiah has announced that the group would push itself into newer geographies in north India. Currently all of the group's cement assets are located in the south.
Chettinad Cement buys 17% in Anjani open offer
30 July 2014India: Chettinad Cement Corporation has raised its stake in Anjani Portland Cement to 66.08% by acquiring a 17.08% stake through an open offer. The offer was triggered by Chettinad Cement entering into a share purchase agreement in March 2014 to acquire up to 61.74% holding from the promoters of Anjani Portland for US$11.7m.
According to Chettinad Cement, the agreement has built-in flexibility to ensure that its holding is limited to 75%, the maximum allowed for a firm to remain listed. As the open offer attracted a good response, Chettinad Cement had limited its share purchase from the promoters to 49%. Chettinad Cement has to pay US$4.92m to buy shares from the promoters and an additional US$3.23m to fund the open offer. The acquisition will help Chettinad Cement, which has a presence predominantly in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, to enter Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
India: Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd (CCCL) has recently purchased 20.58% of the shares of Anjani Portland Cement Ltd from shareholders for a price of US$1.03/share. CCCL announced its plans to acquire Anjani Portland Cement in March 2014. The purchase forms part of the company's strategy to increase its presence in the Andhra Pradesh market. Anjani Portland operates two plants in the Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, with a production capacity of 1.2Mt/yr and plans are also in place for the construction of a greenfield cement plant in Karnataka.
India: Chettinad Cement has acquired a 20.58% stake in Anjani Portland Cement Ltd from its promoter KV Vishnu Raju. The acquisition was done in an off-market transaction and 37,84,014 shares were acquired by Chettinad Cement at US$1.054/share on 20 May 2014. After the transaction, Chettinad Cement's stake in Anjani Portland Cement rose from 20.58% to 41.16%.
Chettinad Cement set to acquire Anjani Portland
10 March 2014India: Chettinad Cement Corporation is set to acquire Anjani Portland Cement. It will give the Chennai-based company a significant presence in the Andhra Pradesh market. No further details have been released. Anjani Cements has over 1.2Mt/yr production capacity from its two plants in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh. It also has plans for setting up a greenfield unit in Karnataka.
Southern Indian cement producers start exports to Myanmar
05 February 2014India: Producers in the south of India have started exporting cement to Myanmar in response to depressed market conditions locally. Chettinad Cements, the India Cements, Dalmia Cements and Ramco Cements have all started shipping cement to Myanmar in the past few months, according to local media.
"We started shipments in January 2014 to Myanmar of about 10,000 - 12,000t. It is not very remunerative, but when the chips are down, we have do something to stay afloat," said Vipin Agarwal, CEO-south, Dalmia Cements. He added that producers make 'token' profits from this market but hope it will become profitable in the future. Dalmia transports its cement from Dalmiapuram in central Tamil Nadu to Tuticorin port for subsequent export. Ramco Cements also starting trialling cement exports to Myanmar in mid-2013, having shipped around 40,000t so far.
Agarwal said that demand in south India has continued to fall with growth in Karnataka, no change in Kerala and decreases in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Cement producers in the region are operating at 55% of their rated cement production capacities. Myanmar is the second export market that cement producers are testing, after Sri Lanka.