Displaying items by tag: India

India: Ambuja Cement recorded sales of US$930m in the first half of 2021, up by 41% year-on-year from US$659m in the same period in 2020. Cement sales volumes grew by 36% to 13.5Mt from 9.95Mt. Its profit after tax was US$186m, up by 63% from US$114m.

“This performance resulted from strong growth in sales of premium products and successful execution of efficiency improvement programs which has partly been impacted by rising energy and raw material costs. Synergies under the master supply agreement have significantly benefited both Ambuja and ACC as we leverage our national footprint,” said Neeraj Akhoury, the chief executive officer of Holcim in India and the managing director of Ambuja Cement.

The company also announced that its board has approved a 1.5Mt/yr expansion project at its Ropar grinding plant in Punjab.

India: The government of Uttar Pradesh plans to build over 10,000km of new roads in rural areas. The state is presently engaged in the construction of 6500km of road, consisting of 800 separate roads and five bridges. The Times of India newspaper has reported that the latest proposals await the approval of the national government. Some of the roads will be rebuilt using full depth reclamation with cement and other additives.

India: UltraTech Cement’s sales rose by 54% year-on-year to US$1.59bn in the first quarter to the end of June 2021 from US$1.03bn in the same period in 2020. Its net profit more than doubled to US$228m from US$107m. The group’s cement sales volumes grew by 47% to 21.53Mt.

India: Dalmia Bharat Group director Jai Hari Dalmia died on 8 July 2021 at the age of 76.

Dalmia’s father Jaidayal Dalmia founded the company in 1939 before Dalmia and his brother Yadu Hari Dalmia later took charge of the business in the 1980s, according to Forbes. Together they built the cement division up from one cement plant to 13 cement plants in 2020.

Dalmia held a Bachelor of Engineeringdegree in electrical engineering from Jadavpur University and a Master's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne. He had more than 47 years of experience across various industries including refractories, sugar and cement. Dalmia was involved in research and development and had personally received several patents for the company's businesses.

India: ACC’s net sales rose by 35% year-on-year to US$1.08bn in the first half of 2021 from US$799m in the same period in 2020.Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 56% to US$232m from US$149m. Sales volumes of cement and ready-mixed concrete grew by 31% to 14.8Mt and by 32% to 1.41Mm³ respectively.

“I am proud of the way team ACC has recorded very good performance this quarter. With a strong focus on supply chain efficiencies and cost optimisation, the company has emerged stronger and more resilient. Waste heat recovery system projects at various sites are progressing well. The large cement capacity expansion project at Ametha in Madhya Pradesh has commenced,” said ACC’s managing director and chief executive officer, Sridhar Balakrishnan.

The subsidiary of Holcim Group added that it “believed strongly” in the resilience of the Indian economy following the coronavirus crisis. It expects cement demand to grow due to increased government spending on large scale infrastructure projects.

India: Nuvoco Vistas has received approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to launch an initial public offering (IPO) of shares worth US$670m. The Hindu newspaper has reported that the offering will consist of a US$201m issuance of shares and a US$469m offer for sale. Around US$180m of the funds will be used to reduce the group’s debts and the remainder will be used for general corporate purposes.

India: Vedanta Aluminium has expressed interest in a long-term collaborative partnership with a cement producer. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that, in such a partnership, Vedanta would supply the producer with fly ash and bauxite residue with which to produced reduced-CO₂ cement. The company said that a cement producer could be its ‘perfect circular economy partner.’

Chief executive officer Rahul Sharma said "We hope the Indian cement producers come forth to work with us on this innovative solution, which is a true win-win scenario for the industry and environment.”

India: Shree Cement is on track to commission its 3.0Mt/yr cement grinding plant at Patas in Pune, Maharashtra in September 2021. The plant was originally scheduled for commissioning in late 2020 but this was delayed due to Covid-19 led-disruption. The unit has had an investment of around US$80m and it will source clinker from a group site in Karnataka. The plant is Shree Cement’s first in western India.

India: Larsen & Toubro says that it has won a contract to supply a 1.8Mt/yr grinding unit to a site belonging to a ‘leading cement producer’ at Dolvi in Maharashtra. The supplier said that the scope of the work includes civil and mechanical engineering and equipment installation.

JSW Cement operates a 2.2Mt/yr integrated cement plant in Dolvi. It upgraded the plant’s capacity from 1.2Mt/yr in 2019.

India: Anjani Portland Cement has agreed to acquire a further 3% in Bhavya Cements to bring its stake in the company to 92% from 89%. The group says that its aim is to further consolidate its shareholding. In early June 2021, Anjani Portland Cement completed its purchase of an 83% stake in Bhavya Cements to increase its shareholding to 89% from 6%.