Displaying items by tag: Star Cement
Star Cement to build 2Mt/yr grinding plant in West Bengal
02 December 2020India: The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee says that workers have cleared land in Jalpaiguri District on which for Star Cement to establish a 2.0Mt/yr grinding plant. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the planned US$61m grinding plant will receive its clinker from the company’s Lumshnong cement plant in Meghalaya.
Chief executive officer (CEO) Sanjay Kumar Gupta said that plant, which will bring the company’s total installed cement production capacity to 6.0Mt, will serve a state with a domestic cement demand of up to 25Mt/yr.
India: Star Cement’s profit in the first quarter of the 2021 financial year, to 30 June 2020, fell by 47% year-on-year to US$5.91m from US$11.2m. This was caused by a by 37% decline in sales to US$39.0m from US$61.6m. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also fell, by 42% to US$8.72m from US$15.0m.
Star Cement’s three-month profit falls by 18% year-on-year
07 February 2020India: Star Cement recorded a standalone net profit of US$6.43m in the period between 1 October 2019 and 31 December 2019, representing a decrease of 18% year-on-year from US$5.45m in the corresponding three-month period of 2018. The company attributed the decline to increased operating expenses, which rose by 16% year-on-year to US$51.9m from US$44.9m in 2019. Sales over the period rose by 6.9% year-on-year to US$60.1m from US$56.2m in the final quarter of 2018.
HeidelbergCement to take over Ultratech’s stake in Emirates Cement
10 September 2019Bangladesh: Germany’s HeidelbergCement will purchase Ultratech’s stake in Emirates Cement, the owner of the 0.5Mt/yr Emirates grinding plant in Dhaka. NewAge Business has reported that Ultratech, a subsidiary of India’s Aditya Birla Group, has set the price of the stake at US$32.1m.
Ultratech first produced cement in Bangladesh following Aditya Birla Group’s acquisition of ETA Star Cement in April 2010, when it bought into the latter’s Bangladeshi subsidiary Emirates Cement for an estimated investment of US$382m. The divestment of its sole Bangladeshi asset awaits bank approval.
Bangladesh produces 58Mt/yr of cement, exceeding a market demand of 31Mt/yr. Of the 75 producers in the country, only 35 are actively making cement.
New Liberian plant approved by government
14 August 2019Liberia: The management of Star Cement has welcomed government approval from the Government of Liberia that will allow it to build a cement grinding plant in Monrovia. The special investment incentive was signed into law by President George Manneh Weah in a move stated to be consistent with his promise of giving ‘power to the people.’
The US$41m facility will have the capacity to produce 0.6Mt/yr of cement. Star Cement’s management is optimistic that it will create employment opportunities, both directly at the plant and via the wider construction and distribution sectors. It is also expected that the new capacity will cause a reduction in cement prices, to the benefit of Liberians, particularly those building their own houses.
Meanwhile, the company is aggressively making efforts to ensure that Liberia benefits from the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) by commencing cement exports. This will help the country to earn US Dollars.
Star Cement expects to begin production within the second half of 2020, at which point it will share shares to Liberians who wish to invest in the cement sector.
Star Cement imports fly ash via Bangladesh
08 October 2018India: Star Cement has imported over 1200t of fly ash from NTPC Kahalgaon in Bihar. The ash was transported by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) via Bangladesh to Pandu Port in Assam, according to the Financial Express newspaper. The water route was chosen due to a lack of railway links in India's north-eastern states.
New Managing Director at Star Cement
07 February 2018India: Shri Sajjan Bhajanka has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Star Cement. He is a Commerce Graduate from Dibrugarh University, Assam. He has business and industrial experience of more than 25 years in the fields of plywood, ferro silicon and granite. He is the Managing Director of Century Plyboards (I) Limited, the largest producer of plywood, laminates and block-boards in India. Mr. Bhajanka is also the Chairman of Shyam Century Ferrous Ltd., one of the leading manufacturers of Ferro Silicon in India. He is also the President of the Federation of Indian Plywood and Panel Industry and All India Veneer Manufacturers Association.
Hydroelectric projects in Nepal becalmed by cement shortage
25 September 2017Nepal: The Nepal Electricity Authority and the Independent Power Producers' Association Nepal say that the new hydroelectric projects are stalling due to a lack of imported cement. The shortage has been caused by new standards set by the Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology (NBSM) for imported cement, according to the Himalayan Times. The NBSM made Nepal Standard certification mandatory for imported cement in July 2017. Foreign producers supplying cement to Nepal, principally from India, have to follow quality, packaging and labelling criteria fixed by the NBSM.
Jaypee Cement and Star Cement have received approval from the NBSM to supply cement to the country following the new standard. Three more Indian cement producers have also submitted applications.
Star Cement to invest US$156m on expansion plans
05 September 2017India: Star Cement plans to invest US$156m towards building a new clinker grinding plant and expanding the clinker production line of its existing plant at Lumshnong in Meghalaya. The cement producer plans to build a new 1.5 – 2Mt/yr grinding plant for US$47m at Siliguri in West Bengal, according to the Hindu newspaper. It also intends to spend US$109m on doubling clinker production to 5Mt/yr at the plant in Siliguri by 2020. The investment will be funded internally and by loans.
Manoj Agarwal resigns from Star Cement
09 August 2017India: Manoj Agarwal has resigned as the company secretary and compliance officer of Star Cement, with effect from 2 August 2017. His successor is Debabrata Thakurta, a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.