Displaying items by tag: India

India: HeidelbergCement India’s half-year results have benefitted from improved markets in building materials in central India including Uttar Pradesh. Its sales volumes of cement rose by 10.5% year-on-year to 2.39Mt in the six months to the end of September 2018 from 2.17Mt in the same period in 2017. Its revenue rose by 19.4% to US$138m from US$116m. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 47% to US$32.1m from US$21.9m.

The subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement said that although fuel prices rose in the latest quarter this was offset by a waste heat recovery system. The company operates two integrated plants and one grinding plant with a cement production capacity of 5.4Mt/yr.

India: The Calcutta High Court has rejected a plea for an injunction by the owners of MP Birla Group into part of the acquisition process of Century Textiles and Industries by UltraTech Cement. The Lodha family holds a significant stake in Pilani Investment and Industries Corporation, which, in turn, owns a stake in Century Textiles and Industries, according to the Daily News and Analysis newspaper. It had argued that the demerger process as part of the sale of Century Textiles and Industries would seriously affect the remaining parts of its business. UltraTech Cement received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the acquisition of the cement business of Century Textiles and Industries in late August 2018.

India: UltraTech Cement’s income rose by 15% year-on-year to US$2.37bn in the six months to the end of September 2018 from US$2.05bn. However, its net profit fell by 24% to US$137m from US$180m. The cement producer blamed its profit drop on mounting energy and logistics costs coupled with local currency depreciation effects. Its cement sales volumes rose by 28% to 31.9Mt from 25Mt.

India: ACC’s net sales rose by 13% year-on-year to US$1.45bn for the first nine months of 2018 from US$1.3bn in the same period in 2017. Its sales volumes of cement grew by 8% to 20.9Mt from 19.3Mt. Its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6% to US$212m from US$200m and net profit after tax rose by 10% to US$107m from US$98m. The cement producer attributed its performance to growing cement sales that were able to offset rising input costs including coal, petcoke, diesel and slag.

India: The proposed merger between OCL India and Dalmia Cement East has been approved by the board of directors of OCL India. Following the amalgamation the company will be known as OCL India.

India: Shailendra Chouksey, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), has warned that cement prices could rise by up to 10% due to growing fuel and transportation costs. The local industry grew by 14% in the first half of the 2018 – 2019 year, according to the Press Trust of India.

"There is a very dire need to correct the pricing. In the last year we have seen 60-70% rise in the cost of fuel. To recover at least some portion of this increase, we need to increase the prices of cement," said Chouksey. He added that cement prices had been ‘almost stagnant’ since around 2011. However, he conceded that the industry still has surplus capacity.

India: Emami Cement has started the process to file an initial public offering (IPO) for US$135m. It plans to issue equity shares worth US$37.5m and offer another US$37.5bn to existing shareholders, according to the Business Standard newspaper. Proceeds from offering will be used for debt repayment and general corporate purposes. The cement producer has a production capacity of 5.6Mt/yr from three plants in eastern India. It is also planning to open a new 3.7Mt/yr plant in April 2019.

India: A joint-venture project involving the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to build a new cement plant at Sundargarh in Odisha has stalled. Following support by local politicians for the plans in February 2017 no further action has been taken, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. SAIL originally made plans in 2006 to use blast furnace slag from the Rourkela Steel Plant and fly ash of NTPC-SAIL Power Company for the unit. It also intended pick up the lease for a limestone mine at Purunapani. However, it later ran into troubles securing state agreement to use the mine.

India: Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation plans to start commercial operation of a new 1Mt/yr production line at its Ariyalur plant in Tamil Nadu in early 2019. Construction work on the US$100m project was originally started in May 2016 and it is due to be completed in October 2018, according to the Hindu newspaper. Testing and trial runs will then start in November 2018. Following the upgrade, the state-owned plant will have a total production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr.

India: Kesoram Industries has received approval from the state government of Karnataka to buy 675 acres of land for mining limestone reserves. The subsidiary of BK Birla Group plans to use the acquisition to increase its existing limestone reserves, according to the Hindu newspaper. The amount the cement producer will pay for the land is still being negotiated and will be paid over a two-year period.