Displaying items by tag: India

India: JSW Group plans to build a US$7.83bn steel complex in Jagatsinghpur district, Odisha. The complex will include a cement grinding plant. The Business Standard newspaper has reported that JSW Group's expansion plans in Odisha also include an electric vehicle and battery plant, at a cost of US$4.82bn. The group said that the investments reflect its commitment to diversifying its capabilities and contributing to the economic growth of Odisha.

India: Vinita Singhania has been appointed as the chair of JK Lakshmi Cement. She will succeed Bharat Hari Singhania when he resigns from the post in April 2024. Bharat Hari Singhania has been appointed as the company’s chair emeritus and strategic advisor.

Vinita Singhania has been on the board of directors of JK Lakshmi Cement since 1989 and became its managing director in 2021. She became the first female president of the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) and also led the National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCBM). She is also a board member for JK Paper, Bengal & Assam Company, Udaipur Cement Works, HEG and other companies.

Bharat Hari Singhania holds over 65 years experience in the cement, automotive tyres, paper and synthetics sectors. He became the managing director of JK Lakshmi Cement in 1994 and then its chair in 2013. He stepped down as the company’s managing director in 2021. He is also a former president of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and chair of Indian Jute Mills Association and Indian Jute Industries Research Association, Kolkata.

France: Vicat recorded consolidated sales of Euro3.94bn in 2023, up by 8% year-on-year from Euro3.64bn in 2022. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were Euro740m, up by 30% from Euro570m. The producer's energy costs declined by 10% to Euro596m. Vicat noted ‘strong’ growth in sales across all regions except Kazakhstan and India, and in earnings in the US. Its cement volumes rose by 6.3% overall, but contracted in Egypt, France, Senegal and Switzerland.

India: JK Lakshmi Cement has acquired an 85% stake in Agrani Cement. The value of the deal is US$39.2m. Agrani Cement was established in Kolkata, West Bengal in 2022.

India: Protestors from Bilaspur District have opposed the transfer of water from the Ali Khad stream to Ambuja Cements’ Darlaghat cement plant in neighbouring Solan District. A group of local farmers and village officials have successfully suspended water transfer to the plant from the stream at Trivenighat. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the Darlaghat plant will draw an estimated 1Ml/day of water from the Ali Khad stream. Protestors say that this would be enough to dry the stream, turning the area in Himachal Pradesh into a ‘desert.’ The Ali Khad stream currently waters 24 wells and seven irrigation networks, upon which 50,000 people depend.

India: Tamil Nadu Cements plans to expand its limestone mining operations at the Pudupalayam quarry in Tamil Nadu. The New Indian Express newspaper has reported that local residents have protested against the planned expansion. Some local landowners claim that Tamil Nadu Cements did not pay them for the 121 hectares of land it originally acquired in Pudupalayam.

India: The Ramco Cements plans to more than double the clinker capacity of its Kalavatala cement plant in Andhra Pradesh to 6.3Mt/yr at a cost of US$151m. The new Line 2 will be equipped with a 15MW waste heat recovery (WHR) unit. The line will raise the producer’s installed cement capacity to 26Mt/yr and its clinker capacity to 19Mt/yr with commissioned scheduled by early 2026. The Ramco Cements plans to source the funds through internal accruals and bank borrowings.

At the same time, the company will invest US$18.4m in the construction of a 10MW WHR plant at its Ramasamy Raja Nagar cement plant in Tamil Nadu, scheduled for commissioning by March 2025. Both WHR projects will raise The Ramco Cements’ total WHR capacity by 58% to 68MW.

The Ramco Cements said that Kalavatala plant is currently operating at full capacity utilisation. It added that it decided to expand the plant in response to this and further ‘demand potential.’ In the current, fourth quarter of the 2024 financial year (1 January – 31 March 2024), the company expects to make capital expenditure (capex) investments of US$47m, followed by US$205m in the upcoming 2025 financial year.

India: Sanghi Industries has received shareholder approval to supply its cement and clinker to ACC and Ambuja Cements. Additionally, Sanghi Industries will begin to purchase of coal from fellow Adani Group subsidiary Adani Enterprises, according to the Economic Times newspaper. Under the new arrangements, ACC and Ambuja Cements will sell Sanghi Industries’ cement and clinker under their own brands, at a price 10% above production cost. This is reportedly below industry pricing standards for comparable deals of 25 - 30% higher pricing over costs.

Adani Group subsidiary Ambuja Cements acquired a 57% stake in Sanghi Industries on 5 December 2023.

India: Ramco Cements reported 5% growth in sales in the third quarter of the 2024 financial year (1 October – 31 December 2023), to US$254m. Rising cement volumes – up by 9.9% to 4Mt – helped to drive the growth in sales. Despite weather-related disruptions, Ramco Cements raised its earnings before interest, depreciation, taxation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 37% to US$48.4m. A 28% reduction in fuel prices to US$138/t of cement spurred earnings growth. Cement capacity utilisation during the quarter fell quarter-on-quarter to 74% to 82% previously.

India: In the third quarter of the 2024 financial year (1 October – 31 December 2023), Grasim Industries’ earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 34% to US$620m. The Hindu Business Line newspaper has reported that the company partly attributed this to an increased sales contribution from its cement subsidiary UltraTech Cement. Nonetheless, Grasim Industries’ net profit dropped by 42% year-on-year in the quarter, to US$313m.