Displaying items by tag: India
National Company Law Tribunal asks Binani Cement creditors to consider offer from UltraTech Cement
03 May 2018India: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has asked the Committee of Creditors (COC) of Binani Cement to consider UltraTech Cement's revised offer. It has also set 24 June 2018 as the completion deadline of the insolvency resolution process, according to the Press Trust of India. The NCLT also asked the COC to reconsider the resolution plan of Rajputana Properties if the subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat Group was willing to raise its offer over UltraTech Cement’s.
A consortium led by Dalmia Bharat won an auction for Binani Cement with a bid of US$974m in early March 2018. UltraTech Cement then made a direct bid to Binani Cement a few weeks later. However, the Supreme Court blocked UltraTech Cement’s offer in mid-April 2018. UltraTech Cement has since made a raised offer to the resolution professional handling the insolvency process of Binani Cement.
India: The state government of Uttar Pradesh has identified land on which Jaiprakash Associates will have to plant a plantation as a penalty for conducting mining in a forest. The decision follows a National Green Tribunal order in 2016, according to the Times of India newspaper. UltraTech Cement purchased the Dalla plant from Jaiprakash Associates in 2017 but it has been unable to use the site fully due to legal issues. It will be able to use the site fully once the conditions of the government proposal have been completed. Other conditions of the government deal will force Jaiprakash Associates to pay four times the actual cost of land for its acquisition and to maintain the plantation for 10 years.
India: Shree Cement is to buy Raipur Handling & Infrastructure for US$8.9m. The railway company operates a railway terminal at Hathbandh in Chhattisgarh near to the cement producer's plant at Baloda Bazar. The acquisition is expected help Shree Cement manage its railway logistics better.
India: Member of parliament Shanta Kumar says that a cement plant for the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh will be inaugurated in October 2018. He added that the plant would likely be in the Sikridhar area, according to the Times of India newspaper. Kumar had previously discussed the project as a solution to reduce poverty and unemployment in the area while campaigning for election.
The state government originally signed a memorandum of understanding with Jap Pradesh Associates in 2007 to build a 2Mt/yr cement plant. However, the agreement was cancelled in 2014. The plant was intended to use limestone deposits at Baroh Shind.
Dalmia Bharat to maintain Red Fort heritage site
30 April 2018India: Dalmia Bharat has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Tourism to maintain the Red Fort heritage monument for US$0.75m/yr. The deal is part of the government’s ‘Adopt a Heritage project’ initiative to persuade private companies to look after the operations and maintenance of national monuments.
India: UltraTech Cement’s consolidated net sales rose by 34% year-on-year to US$1.39bn in the fourth quarter of its 2017 financial year from US$1.04bn in the same period in the previous year. Its profit before interest, depreciation and taxation increased by 20% to US$283m from US$236m.
The group benefitted from its acquisition of assets from Jaiprakash Associates in mid-2017. Its cement production capacity grew by 28% to 85Mt/yr from 66.3Mt/yr. However, its capacity utilisation rate fell slightly to 80% from 82%. Its local sales rose by 32% to 17.6Mt from 13.4Mt and exports increased by 15% to 0.82Mt from 0.72Mt. The cement producer also warned that a rise in petcoke and coal prices following a government ban had caused its input costs to inflate during the reporting quarter.
India: South Central Railway has signed a long-term tariff contract with Ramco Cements and Zuari Cements to transport freight at fixed rates. Ramco and Zuari have signed agreements for five and three years respectively. The railway company has previously signed similar deals with UltraTech Cement, India Cements, Orient Cements and Kesoram Industries.
Votorantim to sell Shree Digvijay Cement stake
25 April 2018India: Votorantim Cimentos is rumoured to be selling its 75% stake in Gujarat-based Shree Digvijay Cement as part of its strategy to prioritise assets and reduce debt, according to ‘sources close to the company.’
The news comes as the company struggles amid rising competition among mid-sized Indian cement producers. It made a net profit of US$2.0m in the 12 months to 31 March 2018 from a turnover of US$63.5m. In 2012, before Votorantim took over the company, it made a net profit of US$1.2m from a turnover of US$64.2m.
India: Commissioning of the new 3000t/day production line at Tancem’s Ariyalur plant in Tamil Nadu is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2018. Construction work is reported as almost complete. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is the lead contractor on the project with Denmark’s FLSmidth hired by L&T to provide the design, engineering, manufacturing and supply of all equipment. FLSmidth’s scope of supply includes providing key components for the line including raw material crushing equipment, limestone storage, raw and coal grinding, single-string ILC pyro processing system with cooler, cement grinding and packing and loading systems.
UltraTech Cement commissions Manawar plant
19 April 2018India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned a new 2.5Mt/yr plant at Manawar, Dhar District in Madhya Pradesh. The cement producer said that it set a record by commissioning the plant in less than a year and that it cost less than US$225m.
The plant’s kiln is designed for different types of energy sources, including alternative fuels. The unit also includes a 1.75Mt/yr grinding unit at the site with an auto-loading facility. Another additional 1.75Mt/yr grinding unit and a 13MW waste heat recovery unit are also being built. Both of these projects are expected to be completed before September 2018.
The new plant is planned to take advantage of the state’s main industrial belt, the Dewas-Ratlam-Pithampurlndore. Following the commissioning of the plant, UltraTech Cement has 19 integrated cement plants in the country with a total cement production capacity of 96.5Mt/yr.