Displaying items by tag: UltraTech Cement
UltraTech appoints two new additional directors
14 October 2014India: UltraTech Cement Limited has appointed Sukanya Kripalu and Renuka Ramnath as additional independent directors with effect from 11 October 2014.
UltraTech linked to bid for Lafarge assets in Brazil
15 October 2014India/Brazil: UltraTech Cement, India's largest cement producer, intends to bid for assets owned by Lafarge in the south-eastern region of Brazil, according to Indian press. If the bid is successful it will be the company's largest overseas deal to date. The Aditya Birla Group company currently holds small assets in west Asia.
The Brazilian assets on sale include three integrated cement plants and two grinding stations with a total capacity of 3.6Mt/yr, as well as one ready-mix plant. The Lafarge assets are on sale as part of the divestment plant following the announcement of the LafargeHolcim merger.
UltraTech has an installed cement production capacity of 62Mt/yr. It has 12 integrated plants, one clinker plant, 16 grinding units and six bulk terminals with operations across India, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
UltraTech completes acquisition of cement units of Jaypee Cement
03 September 2014India: UltraTech Cement has completed the acquisition of cement plants of Jaypee Cement Corporation (JCCL) in Gujarat State. UltraTech informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the acquisition process had been completed and became effective from 12 June 2014.
In September 2013 UltraTech acquired the cement unit of JCCL, which comprised an integrated cement plant at Sewagram and a grinding plant at Wanakbori, for US$627m. Post-acquisition, UltraTech's total capacity in India stands at 58.8Mt/yr. Including overseas capacity it is 62Mt/yr.
Ultratech allocates cash for expansion drive
07 August 2014India: Ultratech Cement has announced that it has earmarked US$1.14bn of capital expenditure (capex) towards expansion projects over the next three years.
"Our capex for the 2015 fiscal year is expected to be US$618m, for the 2016 fiscal year we will spend US$497m and for the 2017 fiscal year we will spend US$33.3m," said UltraTech Cement's Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla at the company's recent Annual General Meeting. The producer currently claims a total cement capacity of 62Mt/yr. "By early 2016, we expect this to scale up to 70Mt/yr when all ongoing projects will be fully commissioned. A judicious mix of internal accruals and borrowings have been used for funding the projects," Birla said.
Speaking about recent acquisitions, Birla said, "The acquisition of the 4.8Mt/yr Gujarat Cement Units from Jaypee Cement Corporation at a cost of US$620m represents a milestone in UltraTech's growth strategy, strengthening its foothold in the growing western market and bolstering its coastal footprint."
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.
UltraTech Cement announces resignation of director
02 July 2014India: UltraTech Cement has announced that M Damodaran, the company's Independent Director, has resigned from the board with effect from 20 June 2014. Damodaran has cited increasing work load and time commitments as well as the need to reduce his board level engagements as the reasons for stepping down.
CCI imposes US$66.2m penalty on Shree Cement
19 June 2014India: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed the penalty on Shree Cement while issuing the final order in a case against cement manufacturers and their trade body, the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA).
"The Commission has imposed a penalty on Shree Cement Ltd at the rate of half of its profits for the years 2009 - 2010 and 2010 – 2011, aggregating to US$66.2m," said the CCI. The CCI added that it had, "Found 11 cement manufacturers, including Shree Cement and the CMA, in contravention of the provisions of the Competition Act 2002, which deal with anti-competitive agreements, including cartels." It asked Shree Cement to refrain from such anti-competitive activities in the future.
With regard to the other companies, the CCI said that as they were fined earlier, it was not imposing any penalty on them again for the same period of contravention. In June 2012 the CCI imposed a US$1.05bn fine on 11 leading cement makers, including ACC, Ambuja Cements, UltraTech, India Cements, Binani Cement, JK Cement, Madras Cement, Lafarge and Jaypee Cement. The industry body CMA was also fined US$121,717.
India: UltraTech Cement has received the approval of the Bombay and Ahmedabad High Courts to acquire Jaypee Cement's plant in Gujarat.
UltraTech has already received the approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), shareholders and creditors to buy the 4.8Mt/yr cement plant with a 57.5MW coal-fired thermal power plant, limestone reserves for over 90 years and a captive jetty at Sewagram, Maharashtra State, for US$639m. As part of the deal, UltraTech will absorb a debt of US$614m of Jaypee Cement and issue UltraTech shares worth US$25.2m to Jaypee Associates.
India: UltraTech Cement Ltd is in talks to buy cement assets from Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. The two companies are in discussions about projects, including Jaiprakash's Rewa cement plant in central India, which has a 7Mt/yr cement production capacity.
Selling additional assets would help Jaiprakash to reduce its debt, which jumped more than four-fold in the five years through March 2014 to US$10.3bn. In 2013 UltraTech agreed to buy a Jaiprakash cement unit based in Gujarat State.
Jaiprakash is also looking for buyers for cement assets in Himachal Pradesh State, where it owns two plants with a combined production capacity of 3.5Mt/yr. Jaiprakash sold its 74% stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement Ltd, a joint venture with the Steel Authority of India Ltd, to Dalmia Bharat Ltd for US$194m in March 2014.
After its recent divestments, Jaiprakash has a cement production capacity of 26.4Mt/yr, according to a company presentation in May 2014. The company plans to sell assets valued at about US$1.35bn by March 2015.
UltraTech’s annual profit down
24 April 2014India: UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla Group, has announced that its net profit declined year-on-year by 19% to US$351m in 2013-2014. This marks the company's first fall in profit for five years and was attributed to rising input costs and sluggish sales.
UltraTech's net sales rose to US$3.29bn for 2013-2014 from US$3.28bn in 2012-2013. For 2013-2014, the company's cement shipments grew to 41.47Mt from 40.65Mt in 2012-2013. For the quarter that ended in March 2014, UltraTech reported an 8% increase in net sales to US$954m, up from US$882m in the same period of 2013.