Displaying items by tag: India
India: UltraTech Cement has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to buy Jaiprakash Associates’ cement plants, which have a total cement production capacity of 22.4Mt/yr. The deal includes both integrated cement plants and cement grinding plants. The plants are situated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
The acquisition also includes a 4Mt/yr cement grinding plant being built in Uttar Pradesh. UltraTech will pay an additional US$68.7m for this plant once it is completed. The deal will increase UltraTech’s total cement production capacity to 90.7Mt/yr from 68.3Mt/yr. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval.
Emami Cement to build US$70m cement grinding plant
29 February 2016India: Emami Cement plan to build a 2Mt/yr cement grinding plant costing US$70m for commissioning by the end of 2016. The foundation stone for the plant in Panagarh, West Bengal was laid by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Panagarh on 26 February 2016.
"The 2Mt/yr capacity unit is to be located at the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation Panagarh Industrial Park in Burdwan district of West Bengal at an investment of US$70m," Emami Cement said in a statement.
Emami Group is currently also setting up a 4Mt/yr integrated cement plant at a cost of US$439m at Risda, Chhattisgarh. The project is expected to become operational soon. Raw material will be sourced from the company's captive limestone mines in Chhattisgarh. Emami is also considering building cement plants in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Shree Cement's highest bidder for limestone deposits in Chhattisgarh
19 February 2016India: Shree Cement has offered the highest bid in an auction for limestone deposits at Karhi Chandi, Baloda Bazar in Chhattisgarh. The site has estimated reserves of 155Mt of limestone in an 252 hectare area. Official confirmation from the state government that confirms Shree Cement as the winner of the auction is still awaited.
Local press reports that Shree Cement offered US$4/t for the deposit. The sale was the first non-coal mining lease auction by the state government. Shree Cement has plans to expand its cement plant at Raipur.
Financial irregularities raised at Calcom Cement
17 February 2016India: The Oriental Bank of Commerce has raised allegations of ‘mismanagement and siphoning of public money’ at Calcom Cement in a letter sent to its lenders, according to Business Line. The bank was quoting allegations made by Bawri Group.
Together Bawri Group and Dalmia Bharat Group run Calcom Cement, a 2.1Mt/yr cement plant in Assam, as a joint venture. Dalmia Bharat owns a 76% stake in Calcom through its subsidiary Dalmia Cement Bharat.
The letter, dated 14 January 2016, was addressed to Axis Bank, lead lender in a consortium of lenders to Calcom. It stated that, “affairs at CCIL (Calcom) are not being managed in a prudent manner and (there have been) several financial irregularities including fund diversion through circular transactions.” Axis Bank declined to comment on an individual account. Dalmia Bharat said it would not speak to the media, pending arbitration proceedings with the Bawri group.
Hetauda Cement plant reopens after fuel blockade lifts
17 February 2016Nepal: The Hetauda Cement plant has started producing cement again following the lifting of an unofficial fuel blockade by India. The plant was shut after it could not import coal from India in the autumn of 2016. Hetauda resumed production on 11 February 2016, according to the Katmandu Post. Factory officials say the plant lost US$0.9m during the enforced closure.
India: HeidelbergCement India has successfully commissioned a waste heat recovery unit at its Narsingarh cement plant in Damoh, Madhya Pradesh. The new power plant will use waste heat generated by the clinker lines at the plant. It will be able to generate up to 12MW of power from this source.
ACC reports 69% drop in profit
12 February 2016India: ACC Ltd has reported a 69% drop in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ending 31 December 2015, on account of lower income from avenues other than its core business.
The consolidated net profit was US$14.9m compared to U$47.8m in 2014. Net sales rose by 3% to US$417.3m from US$404m in 2014. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9% to US$41.0m from US$37.7m in 2014.
Martin Kriegner to be appointed head of India for LafargeHolcim
10 February 2016India: Martin Kriegner will be appointed Head of India for LafargeHolcim, effective on 1 March 2016. He will report to Eric Olsen, Group CEO and succeed Bernard Terver who has decided to retire. Kriegner is currently the Area Manager Central Europe,
Kriegner, an Austrian national, joined LafargeHolcim in 1990 and has previously held several senior leadership positions in the Group, including CFO and CEO of the Group operations in Austria as well as Head of Lafarge India and Regional President Cement for Asia. He graduated from Vienna University with a Doctorate in Law and obtained an MBA at the University of Economics in Vienna.
Bernard Terver joined the Group in 1994 and became member of the Senior Management in 2012. He was responsible for Ambuja Cements and ACC in India since 2014 and was appointed Head of India at LafargeHolcim following the merger.
Production resumes at JK Cement plant in Baglakot
09 February 2016India: Production has resumed at the 3Mt/yr JK Cement plant in Baglakot, Karnataka. It was temporality stopped following the sudden caving-in of the clinker silo roof in January 2016.
"Production of clinker and cement has resumed with operation of the kiln by making an alternate arrangement using two belts conveyors for feeding the clinker directly to the cement mill," said the company in a statement.
While production was suspended the company has been supplying the market using supplies at its depots. Normal levels of production are expected to be achieved by late February 2016. The clinker silo is expected to be repaired within six months.
India: Reliance Infrastructure has sold its cement business to Birla Corporation for US$709m to lower its debt. The transaction is subject to approval of the Competition Commission of India and other applicable regulatory approvals," the company said.
"Reliance Infrastructure today announced the signing of share purchase agreement with Birla Corporation Limited, the flagship Company of the M P Birla Group, in relation to 100% sale of its subsidiary RCCPL," the company said in a statement. It added that SBI Capital Markets acted as the financial advisors to Reliance Infrastructure for this transaction.
Reliance Infrastructure has an integrated cement production capacity of 5.08Mt/yr at Maihar, Madhya Pradesh and Kundanganj, Uttar Pradesh and a 0.5Mt/yr cement grinding unit at Butibori, Maharashtra. The deal was valued at US$140/t of cement production capacity.