Displaying items by tag: India
Cement workers to get 33% wage hike
07 August 2015India: Cement plant workers will see a 33% rise in wages following the conclusion of the Cement Manufacturers' Association's (CMA) wage accord. The decision applies to cement plant workers at 85 cement plants owned by 20 cement companies, according to The Times of India.
The settlement provides for an increase of US$94/month in gross pay. While a hike of US$47/month will be given with effect from April 2014, an increase of another US$47/month will come into force from September 2016. This translates into a 33% salary increase. The wage arrears for 16 months will be paid in two instalments. The settlement is for a duration of four years, from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2018 and covers around 66% of the total annual cement production capacity in the country, or 189Mt/yr out of 285Mt/yr.
"The current settlement is unique as it is perhaps the only nationwide settlement reached for workers of a major organised industry in the private sector," said N Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director of The India Cements, who spearheaded the negotiations on behalf of the CMA. "Despite the difficult conditions being faced by the industry due to subdued demand and lower capacity utilisation, it has agreed to implement the wage revision in the overall interest of a large number of workers."
JSW Cement orders eight slag grinding units from KHD
06 August 2015India: JSW Cement has ordered eight 90t/hr roller press slag grinding units from KHD Humboldt Wedag India Private Ltd (India) and KHD Humboldt Wedag GmbH (Germany) for its plants in India.
Shree Cement’s profit down by 63%
06 August 2015India: Shree Cement's profit in the quarter that ended on 30 June 2015 fell by 62.5% year-on-year to US$16.3m, but its overall earnings beat expectations due to strong growth in its power business.
Its revenue grew by 4% to US$270m and its operating profit fell by 18.7% year-on-year to US$55.9m. Its results were affected by 8.2% higher power and fuel costs, 26% higher freight and forwarding expenses and a 55% depreciation cost. The cement business grew by 1.7% to US$238m, while its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was a US$7.46m loss. Overall performance was supported by its power business, which contributes 23% to total revenue.
India: Orient Cement has reported a 20% year-on-year decline in its net profit to US$4.37m for the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended 30 June 2015, on the back of fall in revenues. Total income from operations decreased by 8.69% to US$54.8m. However, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin was stable at 17%, mainly due to lower raw material and power and fuel expenses. Orient Cement also announced that it has appointed Swapan Dasgupta as additional director in the category of Independent Director.
India: Pollution caused by seven cement plants in the Khrew area of South Kashmir is adversely affecting wildlife, saffron production, human and livestock wellbeing, according to local media.
The local people said that the worst affected villages of Khrew include Pakhribal Nagadore and Botthen. The lives of people living in these villages have been 'turned into hell.' Locals have demanded that the government strictly enforce pollution control norms at the cement plants.
Environmental science expert Ghulam Ahmad Bhat, who has studied the effects of cement plants in Khrew on the human lives, flora, fauna and wildlife, said that their presence is harmful in the short- and long-term. He said that mercury emissions have already affected saffron production, while dust pollution has affected both Khrew woods and the neighbouring village of Harwan. Bhat added that the area also has more respiratory problems among locals.
A meeting between the civil society Khrew Auqaf Committee, deputy commissioner Pulwama Neeraj Kumar and the cement plant owners was held to discuss pollution and monitoring. A resolution is expected to be presented at a second meeting within a month.
India: Ultratech Cement has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation to set up a US$312m, 3Mt/yr capacity cement plant in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan. The plant will be set up on around 10.1km2 of land, according to the Indian Cement Review.
India: The government has issued a show-cause notice to Ambuja Cement for not adhering to the condition of converting at least 50% of the clinker it produces into cement in Himachal Pradesh at cement plant in Darlaghat, according to The Tribune, Himachal Pradesh.
Principal secretary of industry RD Dhiman has reportedly been asked to submit an 'Action Taken' report about the total loss of revenue on account of the reduced royalties and various taxes to the government.
"It has come to the notice of the government that Ambuja Cement has been converting only 17% of its clinker into cement at its plant at Darlaghat, which has resulted into the loss of revenue to the government," said industry minister Mukesh Agnihotri. He added that the department had been asked to compile a report of the total loss to it on this account.
Ambuja Cement has been asked to explain why it has violated the agreement that it entered into with the government. If the reply given by the company is found to be unsatisfactory, the permit to operate the plant could be withdrawn. As per the agreement signed between the government and Ambuja Cement for the plant, at least 50% of the clinker has to be converted into cement within the state.
CRH buying into India – Whatever next…?
29 July 2015Ireland's CRH this week submitted a binding bid for various Indian assets of LafargeHolcim that will be sold by the newly-formed group as a condition of its formation. CRH will compete for the assets with HeidelbergCement and Barings Private Equity, which sold its stake in the same assets to Lafarge India prior to the merger. According to the Irish Examiner, the scale of the bids is in the region of US$600 - 800m. On the back-burner is another deal that could see CRH snap up a 74% stake in Tongyang Cement and Energy in South Korea.
These moves are consistent with CRH's new-found commitment to rapid expansion into new markets and an apparent desire to become a far bigger player in the global cement industry. It is in line with the sentiment expressed by its CEO Albert Manifold back in February 2015, when he stated in a letter to shareholders that CRH had given 'hell or high water commitments to Lafarge and Holcim' regarding its earlier Euro6.5bn purchase of assets as part of the LafargeHolcim merger. At that point CRH appeared almost 'over committed' to the huge deal, with some analysts asking whether or not CRH had paid too much.
Let's stop a minute to look at where CRH finds itself. Europe, its main cement market, is still under siege from a general lack of investment, both private and public. The UK is likely to perform well, although an ongoing Competition Enquiry at Irish Cement is an unwelcome distraction. CRH's new eastern European ventures are all in fairly small markets. Poland, in which CRH operates Grupa Ozarow, appears to act as the model for these acquisitions, but they remain at risk from the prolonged Eurozone crisis.
In Brazil, another new market, CRH is 'up against it,' with massive competition from Votorantim and InterCement, smaller local players and LafargeHolcim. A decline in cement demand here so far in 2015 year-on-year is not a good omen. Neither is Votorantim's decision this week to turn one of its plants into a distribution centre due to continued low demand.
In Canada CRH will gain 3.1Mt/yr of former Holcim capacity, around 20% of that market's capacity. This, along with its 2.7Mt/yr acquisition in the Philippines, probably represents CRH's best opportunities out of its newly-acquired assets.
However, with the confirmation that it intends to invest in 5Mt/yr of former Lafarge assets in India, a market not exactly enjoying buoyant conditions at present, CRH appears to be further exposing itself to another 'sub-optimal' market. We recently reported on the 100Mt/yr of capacity that is sitting idle in India at present , hardly a situation to instil confidence in a new entrant.
Whether CRH will be forced to leave some of these markets, buy into others or otherwise shuffle its cement assets to better suit the world economy remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aforementioned mega-deal, LafargeHolcim gave the first indications of how it will go about re-branding in various markets this week. While a new brand will be introduced in markets with 'a balanced overlap' of former Lafarge and Holcim assets, countries without overlap will see existing Lafarge or Holcim 'brands' become 'endorsed' by LafargeHolcim. In countries with unbalanced overlap, either Lafarge or Holcim will be the endorsed brand.
Of course, in every market that it has bought a LafargeHolcim asset, CRH will also have to re-brand. So far it has announced that its operations in France will be branded as 'Orsima' from 1 August 2015. No elaboration on how this name was derived has been provided, but let's hope that there are not too many other new names to remember!
India: Ambuja Cements has reported a 45% fall in its standalone net profit to US$35.4m for the first quarter of its 2016 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2015. Its total standalone income fell by 8% year-on-year to US$392m. Ambuja's board has approved the amalgamation of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Dirk India Pvt Ltd, with the company with effect from 1 April 2015. The move is now subject to the approval of shareholders, the High Court and appropriate authorities.
India: Century Textiles and Industries has posted a net loss of US$4.53m for the first quarter of its 2016 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2015. During the period, its net profit was US$10.4m and its sales rose by 5.59% to US$304m. Its cement division registered sales of US$175m, up from US$158m in the first quarter of its 2015 financial year.