Displaying items by tag: India
Prism returns to profit in second quarter
30 July 2014India: Prism Cement has reported a net profit of US$2.2m for the second quarter of 2014, which it attributes to higher sales and margins. The performance represents a turn-around from the US$7.96m net loss that Prism suffered in the same quarter of 2013. Total income rose to US$230.9m, mainly due to higher revenue from cement and clinker, of which it sold 1.54Mt during the quarter.
Ramco Cements’ net profit dips 47% on low demand
29 July 2014India: Continued slackness in domestic cement demand led to a 47% fall in Ramco Cements' net profit to US$6.04m during the second quarter of 2014, which ended on 30 June 2014, down from US$11.5m during the same quarter of 2013. Revenues fell by 2.8% to US$160m, down from US$165m in 2013.
On a consolidated basis, Ramco Cements earned a net profit of US$6.10m during the second quarter of 2014, which includes results of its subsidiary company, Ramco Windfarms, as well as its associate company, Ramco Systems.
Ramco Cements expects performance to improve in the coming months. It is establishing a cement grinding plant at Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, with a 1Mt/yr grinding capacity, at a cost of US$59.8m. The project will be completed over the next few months and will help the company to grow in the Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh State markets. Ramco Cements is also working on increasing capacity at its thermal power plants at Alathiyur Village and Ariyalur Town in Tamil Nadu State.
India: JK Lakshmi Cement has reported a 31% turnover increase to US$111m in the second quarter of 2014, which ended on 30 June 2014, compared to US$85.0m in the corresponding quarter of 2013. The increase was attributed to 14% growth in production and an 18% increase in sales volumes.
JK Lakshmi Cement's operating profit during the quarter stood at US$19.3m. This represents a 58% increase compared to the same period of 2013, when operating profit was US$12.2m. After providing for interest and depreciation, the company's pre-tax profit rose to US$11.0m, compared to US$2.96m in the same period of 2013. After accounting for exceptional items and tax, JK Lakshmi Cement posted a net profit of US$6.73m for the second quarter of 2014, up from US$2.61m in the corresponding quarter of 2013.
JK Lakshmi Cement has reduced its fuel consumption to 715,000Cal/Kg of clinker in the second quarter of 2014, compared to 731,000Cal/Kg of clinker in the corresponding quarter of 2013. It has also reported satisfactory progress in its 2.7Mt/yr capacity greenfield cement plant in Durg, Chhattisgarh, which is expected to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2014.
India: Ambuja Cement has reported a 26% year-on-year increase in stand-alone net profit for the second-quarter of 2014, led by increase in sales and other income. The company posted a second-quarter stand-alone net profit of US$68.0m, up from US$53.9 for the second quarter of 2013. Ambuja Cement's quarterly net sales were US$450m, up by 15% from US$390m in the preceding year quarter, while other operating income was US$2.28m, compared with US$5.48m in the second-quarter of 2013. During the second quarter, sales volumes rose by 8% to 5.79Mt from 5.38Mt in the prior-year quarter.
India: ACC has reported a second quarter 2014 net profit of US$40.1m, some 7% lower than the US$43.1m reported in the second quarter of 2013. The fall in profit was attributed to higher total expenses. ACC also announced that Harish Badami was appointed as CEO and managing director with effect from 13 August 2014.
"Manufacturing and distribution costs continued to face escalation, though we derived some benefits from the ongoing cost leadership programme and an increase in the sales of premium products," said ACC.
Revenue grew by 7.5% year-on-year to US$509m during the second quarter of 2014, aided by higher volumes. Sales volumes increased to 6.35Mt, up from 6.12Mt in the same period of 2013.
"Demand for cement showed some improvement and the company's overall sales volumes during the quarter improved by 4%," said ACC. The company expects the positive trend in demand for cement to continue as a result of government's emphasis on housing and infrastructure development.
Profit before interest and tax from its cement business declined to US$50.7m from US$57.7m year-on-year. Operating profit (EBITDA) dropped by 8% year-on-year to US$74.9m. Total expenses during the quarter increased by 10% compared to year-ago period due to higher raw material and employee costs and increased power, fuel and freight charges. Other expenses grew by 8% year-on-year.
India: Aditya Birla Group's Ultratech Cement Ltd has reported net profits and sales for the first quarter of financial 2015, which was April to June 2014, with regards to both stand-alone and consolidated results. On a consolidated basis, Ultratech's first quarter net profit, after minority interest, was US$104m, whereas the company reported US$111m in the corresponding quarter of 2014. Quarterly net sales and other operating income amounted to US$1.00bn, while the same was at US$880m in the first quarter of the 2014 financial year. Other income stood at US$35.7m in the current fiscal year, up from US$25.4m in the 2014 fiscal year. Combined domestic grey cement and clinker sales volumes were 11.70Mt, up by 16% from 10.08Mt in the same period of 2014.
India: Shree Cement is planning an expansion of its captive limestone-mining project at Baloda Bazar, Raipur District, Chhattisgarh from 4.8Mt/yr to 8.6Mt/yr on 5.31km2 of land. The project will be part of its integrated cement plant and will be designed by JM Enviro Net. The expansion is currently waiting for environmental clearance. Mining work is expected to commence within two years.
Maha Cement plans Sri Lanka market entry
22 July 2014India: Maha Cement has announced that it plans to enter the Sri Lanka cement market with its joint venture company, My Home Industries Limited (MHIL), which is part-owned by Ireland's CRH. MHIL has 8.40Mt/yr of cement production capacity and plans to increase its capacity to 10Mt/yr by 2015. It plans to set up a cement plant in the east coast of Tamil Nadu, India, for import to nearby Sri Lanka.
India: A new Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF) has been constituted to undertake a comprehensive review of the existing coal resources and to consider feasibility for rationalisation of linkages.
The major recommendations of the IMTF include acceptance of the recommendations of Coal India Limited (CIL) to rationalise existing coal resources. CIL has received 31 applications for rationalisation, including eight from captive power plants, out of which it recommended rationalisation in seven cases. There were two applications from cement plants.
"The approved recommendations of the IMTF were sent to CIL," said Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal. "CIL and the coal companies have implemented the recommendations pertaining to rationalisation of coal resources to captive power plants, sponge iron and cement plants." With regard to the rationalisation of resources of power utilities, the IMTF's recommendations are all inter-linked and could be implemented only with the consent of all the consumers. However, the consumers concerned did not agree to the revised arrangement.
The government has also expedited environment and forest clearances and land acquisition processes to improve Indian coal production. According to Goyal, India does have adequate coal resources to meet demand. Steps have been taken by CIL and its subsidiaries to augment production, including capacity addition from new projects and the use of mass production technologies. As per official data, the total estimated quantum of coal resources in India is 301.56Bnt. Some 12.53Bnt of coal has been extracted between 1950 and 2013-2014, with 566Mt of that in 2013-2014 alone.
Vicat buys out Vicat Sagar in India
16 July 2014India: Vicat Group has purchased Sagar Cements' stake in Vicat Sagar Cement for US$72m, subject to customary conditions precedents. After this transaction, Vicat will own 100% of Vicat Sagar Cement. Together with the share purchase, the two groups will untie all their ownership links.
Vicat Sagar Cement operates a cement plant in North Karnataka with a cement production capacity of 3Mt/yr. The plant includes its own captive power plant and access to the rail network. Vicat's India operations, comprising Bharathi Cement and Vicat Sagar Cement, include two cement plants with a total production capacity of 8Mt/yr.
In 2013 Vicat reported sales of US$210m in India, a rise of 12.7% year-on-year. In the first quarter of 2014, sales in India rose by 27.2%.