Displaying items by tag: India

HeidelbergCement’s latest sustainability target has been to reduce the ‘cement’ footprint from its own name. From this week it has become Heildelberg Materials. Of the top ten global cement producers in Global Cement Magazine’s roundup in the December 2021 issue only three now have the word ‘cement’ in their names.

In Heildelberg Materials’ own words, the “new brand identity underlines the company's pioneering role on the path to carbon neutrality and digitalisation in the building materials industry.” Chair Dominik von Achten then goes on to explain that the company is proud of its cement business but its range of services goes far beyond cement. This is certainly true but in 2021 the cement business generated 44% of the group’s revenue. 19% came from aggregates, 25% from ready-mixed concrete plus asphalt and the remaining 12% from services and other lines.

Yet, Heidelberg Materials is also a leader in driving innovation in carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) for the cement sector with a full production line capture unit planned for commissioning in 2024 at the Brevik plant in Norway. When it opens it will be the only full scale CCUS unit at a cement plant anywhere in the world. The group further plans to reduce the CO₂ footprint of its cementitious products to below 500kg/t CO₂ by 2030 and aims to generate half of its revenue from low-carbon products. These are not small achievements or ambitions.

Meanwhile, Holcim completed the divestment of its Indian business to Adani Group this week for US$6.4bn. For Holcim the move marks a milestone in the reshaping of its business away from developing markets and the diversification on its product lines into light (and more sustainable) building materials. So why would a company like Adani Group move into the cement sector when multinationals are getting out?

Money is the obvious answer and the one group owner Gautam Adani raised at a speech marking his latest mega-acquisition. He said, “Our entry into this business is happening at a time when India is on the cusp of one of the greatest economic surges seen in the modern world.” He expects his new cement arm to become the most profitable cement producer in the country although his competitors may have other ideas. As well as operational efficiency, Adani also plans to inject US$2.5bn into the business as part of plans to increase its production capacity to 140Mt/yr in the next five years, from around 70Mt/yr at present. However, the financial press in India and elsewhere has wondered how much debt Adani Group can cope with and whether it will consolidate its latest acquisitions or simply use them to buy into even more sectors. Time will tell.

Lastly, it should be noted that Adani Group’s new rival UltraTech Cement has targeted a production capacity of 154Mt/yr by 2025. Any growth in the Indian market will clearly be contested. It is also worth noting that the latter company has retained ‘cement’ in its name. For now at least.

India: Ambuja Cements has appointed Gautam Adani as its chair and his son Karan Adani as a director. ACC has appointed Karan Adani as its chair. The changes in board personnel follow the completion of the acquisition of Holcim’s subsidiaries in India by Adani Group. Karan Adani is expected to manage both cement companies, according to the Press Trust of India.

Other initial personnel changes following the takeover include the appointment of Ajay Kapur as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Ambuja Cements. Vinod Bahety has been appointed as the chief financial officer. The company’s former chair, NS Sekhsari, has been appointment as chairman emeritus in recognition of his “outstanding and invaluable contributions.” At ACC, Sridhar Balakrishnan remains as CEO.

Gautam Adani, the chair and founder of Adani Group, holds over 30 years of business experience. Under his leadership, Adani Group has emerged as an integrated infrastructure conglomerate with interests in resources, logistics and energy sectors.

Karan Adani is the CEO of Adani Ports and SEZ Limited (APSEZ). He is currently leading the transformation at APSEZ to form an integrated logistics company. This has included growth at the company from two ports to 10 ports and terminals. He is an economics graduate from Purdue University in the US.

Ajay Kapur holds over 25 years of experience in the cement and construction, power and heavy metals sector. He joined Ambuja Cement in 1993 as an executive assistant to the then managing director (MD). He held various strategic positions over the last two decades, and from 2014 to 2019, he served as the CEO and managing director of the company. Prior to joining Adani Group in June 2022, Kapur was CEO - Aluminium and Power and MD - Commercial at Vedanta. Most recently he served as CEO of Special Projects at Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone. Kapur is an economics graduate from St Xavier's University in Mumbai and holds a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) from the KJ Somaiya Institute of Management. He has also attended the Advanced Management Programme at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Vinod Bahety previously worked as the Group Head - Merger & Acquisition & Corporate Finance for Adani Group. He has worked on some of the major merger and acquisition activities for the group. Previously he worked in the banking sector. He is a chartered accountant by qualification.

India: Dalmia Bharat has accelerated its commitment to net zero CO₂ cement production by 2040 with the launch of its newTransformative and Collaborative Strategy Roadmap. The roadmap provides a framework forinnovation, growth and sustainability initiatives through shared synergies with private and public entities, including Asian Development Bank and 50 local government authorities. Initiatives already underway include non-recyclable waste disposal partnerships with local administrations across India. Dalmia Bharat is supporting these initiatives with the installation of chlorine dust bypass systems at two of its cement plants, the first in India. The producer's cement operations are already 40% renewably powered and 13 times water positive.

Dalmia Bharat's environmental, social and governance (ESG) executive director and chief risk officer Arvind Bodhankar said “As a cement producer, we are attached to people’s happiness by gluing thousands of dreams into reality. We therefore strive to give our customers only the best building materials with the lowest environmental impact. In addition, we also intend to drive a net-zero emissions reality with a strategy that’s aligned with our business philosophy, Clean and Green is Profitable and Sustainable.”

India: Adani Group has received a letter of intent from the West Bengal government for the establishment of a new deep-sea port in the state for US$3.13bn. Adani Group won an auction to build the port at Tajpur in the district of Purba Medinipur. The project also includes the construction of an 18km-long shipping channel. The facilities will be able to serve vessels with a deadweight tonnage. The port will connect an upcoming industrial and economic corridor between Raghunathpur and Dankuni, with global trade.

India: Gautam Adani, the chair of Adani Group, says his company has plans to double its cement production capacity to 140Mt/yr by the late 2020s and become the most profitable producer in the sector. In a speech made to mark the group’s US$6.5bn acquisition of Ambuja Cements and ACC, he anticipated that a rise in cement demand in India, due to economic growth and government infrastructure development, would lead to “significant” margin expansion, according to the Press Trust of India. He added that the transaction was the country’s largest ever in-bound merger and acquisition in the infrastructure and materials sector.

Adani explained the decision to enter the cement market was due to India’s growth potential in the cement market. He said that while India is the second largest producer of cement in the world, its per capita consumption is just 250kg compared to 1600kg of China. He also expected that long-term average growth in cement demand would be 1.2 to 1.5 times the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) due to government investments in infrastructure and housing.

India: Adani Group has successfully acquired Holcim’s assets in Indian for US$6.4bn. Holcim says that the transaction will facilitate the on-going implementation of its acquisition strategy, to build on investments of US$5.19bn in its solutions and products business so far in 2022.

Holcim chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “I would like to thank our 10,700 Indian colleagues who have played an essential role in the development of our business over the years with their relentless dedication and expertise. I am convinced that the Adani Group is the right home for them as well as for our customers to continue to thrive in the future. This divestment is another step in our transformation to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, strengthening our balance sheet and giving us the firepower to continue our acquisition strategy.”

India: Adani Group subsidiary HDC Bulk Terminal has concluded an agreement with the ports authority of Haldia Dock Complex for the construction of a new terminal at Berth 2 of the Port in West Bengal. The facility will have a handling capacity of 3.74Mt/yr, and will receive bulk solids including raw materials for Adani Group’s cement subsidiaries in the state. The total cost of the terminal’s construction will be US$37.4m. Work will begin before April 2023.

India: Gautam Adani, his son Karan Adani and his nephew Pranav Adani are all expected to join the boards of ACC and Ambuja Cement. Sources quoted by the Mint newspaper anticipated changes to the boards of both companies to start happening in mid-September 2022. At the same time, a number of existing board members of the subsidiaries of Switzerland-based Holcim are expected to resign. Adani Group’s US$10.5bn acquisition of the subsidiaries of Switzerland-based Holcim has been gathering pace, with the latter having completed its due diligence process and the mandatory open offers for the public shareholders finished.

India: Gujarat Sidhee Cement again closed its Sidheegram cement plant on 11 September 2022. The producer says that the temporary suspension of production will last until 1 October 2022.

India: ACC and Ambuja Cements shareholders tendered some of their shares under a US$3.8bn open offer by Adani Group for a further 26% stake in each company. The offer closed on 9 September 2022, and the group secured ownership of a further 2.2% stake in ACC and a further 0.4% stake in Ambuja Cements.

Adani Group agreed to acquire Switzerland-based Holcim’s 50% ACC stake and 63% Ambuja Cements stake for US$10.5bn in May 2022.