Displaying items by tag: India

India: JK Cement’s income has fallen due to growing raw material, power, fuel and freight costs. Its income fell by 27% year-on-year to US$24.5m in the nine months to 31 December 2018 from US$34.2m in the same period in 2017. Its expenses rose by 2.5% to US$456m from US$445m. Its revenue increased by 1.4% to US$481m from US$474m. Additional costs also arose during the reporting period from an US$18,000 fine levied by the Competition Commission of India in August 2018. The cement producer is challenging the penalty.

India: Ramco Cements’ earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 14% to US$102m in the nine months of 31 December 2018 from US$119m in the same period in 2017. Its revenue rose by 15% to US$510m from US$445m. Sales volumes of cement increased by 19% to 7.83Mt from 6.58Mt. The cement producer said that sales had increased in southern and eastern markets. It blamed its falling earnings on rising diesel price that negatively affected transport costs for both raw and finished materials.

India: The Cement Manufacturers’ Association and a federation of Central Trade Union Organisations (CTU) have signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing an increase in gross pay and other benefits. It will raise worker pay by US$70/month from April 2018 to March 2022, according to the Economic Times newspaper. Other benefits include adjustments to cost of living allowances, length of service perks and more.

India: The South Central Railway (SCR) hopes to increase its cement loading capacity to 27.5Mt/yr in the current financial year. It has handled 20.5Mt in the nine months to the end of Dcember 2018, according to the Hindu newspaper. The cement industry represents the second largest freight segment for the Indian railway sector with a share of 23% of a capacity of 500Mt/yr for the 2017 – 2018 year.

India: Three contract labourers have died at the ACC Sindri cement plant in Jharkhand. The labourers were working on a conveyor belt when it unexpectedly started running, according to the Pioneer newspaper. Other workers were also injured in the incident. A police investigation is underway.

India: UltraTech Cement’s income rose by 17% year-on-year to US$3.73bn in the nine months to the end of 2018 from US$3.18bn in the same period in 2017. Its net profit fell by 21% to US$197m from US$250m. The main causes for this were rising power, energy and logistics costs. Despite this, income and net profit rose in the third quarter of the year. The cement producer also completed its acquisition of Binani Cement in the third quarter.

India: Shree Cement’s income rose by 15% year-on-year to US$1.18bn for the first nine months of 2018 from US$1.07bn in the same period in 2017. However, its profit before tax fell by 50% to US$95.2m from US$192m. This was mainly due to rising power and fuel costs and logistic expenses.

Pakistan: Local cement despatches grew by 5.9% year-on-year to 40.9Mt in 2018 from 38.6Mt in 2017. Exports increased by 42% to 5.9Mt from 4.6Mt, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association. Overall, all cement despatches rose by 9.4% to 46.8Mt from 42.8Mt. By region, despatches and imports grew faster in the south of the country and exports fell by 7.8% in the north. Exports to Afghanistan fell by 12% but exports to India rose by 2% and overseas exports increased by 155%.

India: Adani Group plans to build an integrated cement plant at Lakhpat in Gujarat as part of a US$7.7bn investment in multiple projects in the state. Other projects include the world’s largest solar park and a lithium battery plant, according to the Press Trust of India. Adani Group is an integrated infrastructure conglomerate with interests in resources, logistics, energy, agriculture, real estate, public transport infrastructure, consumer finance and defence sectors.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has hired digital logistics company FarEye to improve its operations. The cement producer hopes to improve its distribution network through more information, better control of movements of goods and improved collaboration with third-party vendors, according to Dataquest. FarEye will use its proprietary platform to integrate internal and external stakeholders to provide real-time visibility at a trip level.

“On our wide distribution network handling volumes around 0.8Mt/month, pilferage and back-and-forward loading are some of the key operational challenges that we face. We believe that gaining better visibility into our vast network of multiple plants and about 10,000 destinations will help us control pilferage, optimize capacity and eventually help us deliver a superior customer experience,” said Shailendra Chouksey, a director at JK Lakshmi Cement.

FarEye also plans to add value by providing business insights across the value chain, which could help to increase efficiency, cut costs and increase profits. It will also digitise Vehicle Placement and introduce Electronic Proof of Deliveries.