
Displaying items by tag: India
India: JK Cement has secured in-principle approval from its board of directors to enter into a share purchase agreement for 100% of shares in Toshali Cements. The Economic Times has reported the value of the agreement as US$19m.
Toshali Cements operates the 200,000t/yr Ampavalli cement plant in Odisha and the 435,000t/yr Choudwar grinding plant, also in Odisha. JK Cement said that its acquisition of Toshali Cements will help the group to expand into Eastern India.
India: Adani Group repaid loans worth a total of US$2.65bn on 6 June 2023, with a total interest payment of US$700m. Accord Fintech News has reported that the sum includes prepayment of loans worth US$700m used to acquire Holcim India, alongside other loans. This completes the group's prepayment of loans taken for the acquisition, which it completed in September 2022.
India: JK Organisation and Nirma Group have submitted non-binding offers to acquire 40 - 72% stakes in Sanghi Cement. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that promoters value the company at US$726m.
Shree Cement also previously entered non-binding talks to acquire Sanghi Cement on 29 April 2023.
India: Shree Cement has won an auction for the Chandrapur limestone mine in Maharashtra. The mine has reserves of 50Mt of limestone, and is equipped to meet the raw materials consumption of a 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement plant. The mine occupies a 105 hectare site close to the Chandrapur and Warora railheads, 200km from Nagpur. Shree Cement will reportedly consider building new sidings to connect the quarry to the national rail network.
The Economic Times newspaper has reported that Shree Cement bid to pay taxes of 27% of the value of limestone extracted from the quarry, in addition to mining royalties. The local price of cement-grade limestone was US$5.76/t in May 2023.
India: Local people have launched a protest outside Wonder Cement's Kherwas grinding plant in Madhya Pradesh. The Free Press Journal has reported that the protestors are requesting that the company provide more jobs to people from the plant's host community. They stated their intent in memoranda submitted to the plant management and the local government. Local rules require companies operating plants in the area to appoint applicants from the local community to 75% of plant jobs.
Wonder Cement is a subsidiary of Rajasthan-based RK Group.
Shiva Cement commissions Sundergarh cement plant
01 June 2023India: Shiva Cement has commissioned its new US$185m Sundergarh cement plant in Odisha. Pragativadi News has reported that the new plant has an integrated capacity of 1.05Mt/yr and an additional grinding capacity of 0.27Mt/yr.
In October 2022, parent company JSW Cement announced plans to increase its total installed capacity by 47% to 25Mt/yr.
India: Adani Group plans to grow ACC and Ambuja Cements' capacity to 140Mt/yr by 2028 under a joint expansion strategy. The Hindu newspaper has reported that new strategy includes capital expenditure with a value of US$5.58bn and new acquisitions. Investments will reportedly be split equally between the two subsidiaries. After completion of the current growth plan, the cement producers will 'pause for a while' prior to any subsequent expansion phase.
Adani Group said that it is proceeding with an operational merger of ACC and Ambuja Cements, without merging their distinct brands. The priority of the merger will be to increase efficiency in supply chains and logistics operations.
India: The cement industry imported 3.21Mt of petcoke during the first quarter of 2023, up by 72% year-on-year. This was due to a shortage and rising costs of domestically produced petcoke.
Oman is a major trade partner for petcoke for the Indian cement industry. The Oman Daily Observer newspaper has reported that a new oil refinery is scheduled for commissioning in Duqm before the end of 2023. ‘Several’ Indian cement companies are reportedly seeking to secure new petcoke supply deals in Oman.
JK Cement's income rises in 2023 financial year
30 May 2023India: JK Cement's consolidated income rose by 21% year-on-year to US$1.19bn in the 2023 financial year, from US$983m in the 2022 financial year, Accord Fintech News has reported. High costs caused the group's net profit to fall by 38% to US$50.7m from US$82.1m.
India: Anjani Portland Cement recorded sales of US$80m in the 2023 financial year. This corresponds to a 17% year-on-year drop from US$97m in the previous financial year. India InfoLine News has reported that the producer's total expenditure also dropped, by 2.6% to US$77.4m from US$79.5m. It reported a net loss after minority interests of US$7.03m, compared to a net profit of US$5.01m in the 2022 financial year.