Displaying items by tag: India
Ramco Group chairman Ramasubrahaneya Rajha dies
17 May 2017India: P R Ramasubrahaneya Rajha, the chairman of business conglomerate Ramco Group, has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife and son P R Venkatarama Rajha, the vice-chairman and managing director of the group, according to the Press Trust of India. Ramasubrahaneya Rajha was the son of the group’s founder P A C Ramasamy Rajah.
India: Shree Cement’s revenue rose by 4% year-on-year to US$442m for the quarter that ended on 31 March 2017 from US$424m in the same period in 2016. However, its profit fell by 54% to US$47.5m from US$103m. The fall in profit arose from the group’s power business and other income sources. The earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation and amortisation (EBITDA) after inter-segment transfers rose by 10% to US$76m from US$69m. The cement producer said that its results are not comparable as it adopted a change in its accounting year from the 2015 - 2016 period.
JK Cement upgrades plants in Rajasthan
16 May 2017India: JK Cement has increased its clinker production capacity at its plants in Rajasthan by 3.3Mt/yr following upgrades in cooler modification, de-bottlenecking and other upgrades. The investment cost US$7.8m. Following the upgrade the cement producer had a production capacity of 5.4Mt/yr in the state.
India: UltraTech Cement has commissioned 0.3Mt/yr slag cement grinding mill at its grinding plant at Patliputra in Bihar. The new capacity is intended to meet demand for slag cement in eastern India. With the expansion of the plant the cement producer has a production capacity of 70.6Mt/yr.
ACC and Ambuja Cement consider merger options
08 May 2017India: LafargeHolcim’s subsidiaries ACC and Ambuja Cement have started exploring the options for a merger. The cement producers have initiated a study to assess the benefits of the move. A special committee of directors, of which the majority are independent directors, has been constituted to commence the evaluation. The boards of both companies will make a decision once a recommendation is received from the special committee of directors and the Audit Committee.
India: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint against Penna Cement for alleged irregularities related to the allocation of land and the granting of a mining lease. The agency has also named the deceased YSR Congress chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, V Vijaysai Reddy, Penna Group chairman Putta Pratap Reddy and Pioneer Holdings in the case, according to the Hans India newspaper. The complaint accuses the former Andhra Pradesh state government, run by Reddy, of allocating 231 acres in Yadiki mandal of Anantapur district to Penna Cements for setting up a cement plant and officials for allowing the allocation in violation of land acquisition rules.
The ED’s complaint also says that the government at the time refused mining leases to UltraTech Cement, granted a prospecting lease to Penna Cement and was complicit in other irregularities. In return for these actions the ED alleges that Penna Group invested US$10.6m in companies owned by Reddy, in violation of money laundering regulations. Previously, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed charges against Penna Cement, Raghuram Cements and India Cements for favours they allegedly received from the Andhra Pradesh state government in 2008 and 2009.
India: Jaiprakash Associates has missed interest payments on a non-convertible debentures (NCD) for more than three months. It reported similar defaults on NCDs in April 2017. The indebted cement producer is selling integrated cement plants with a production capacity of 17.2Mt/yr and grinding plants with a capacity of 4Mt/yr to UltraTech Cement.
India: Ambuja Cement has launched Ambuja Compocem, a composite cement made from fly ash and slag. The product is being produced at its Chhattisgarh plant and it has been introduced to markets in Bihar and Jharkland. It is being marketed to all market segments including individual house builders, real estate developers and infrastructure projects.
“With the launch of Ambuja Compocem, we have achieved a three pronged sustainability approach by conserving natural resources, creating a greener product and fulfilling customer needs for a superior performance product. We call this approach delivering true value,” said Ambuja Cement’s managing director and chief executive officer Ajay Kapur.
India: Dalmia Bharat Cement has been selected as the preferred bidder for the Kesla II limestone block in Raipur District, Chhattisgarh. The block, with reserves of 215Mt, has an estimated value of US$1.6bn, according to the Hindu newspaper.
India: Y V Ramana Rao, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) Vijayawada chapter has said that the building associations have solicited quotes for cement from Chinese producers because local prices are too high. The government has asked local cement producers to cap their prices, according to the Economic Times. However the builders associations have rejected some of the fixed prices as being too high.