Displaying items by tag: India

India: NCL Industries has commissioned its new cement grinding plant at Thallapalem, near Anakapalle. The greenfield facility was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma. It adds 660,000t/yr to the company’s total cement capacity, now at 4Mt/yr. Built at an estimated cost of US$28m, the 16-hectare plant will produce ‘eco-friendly’ cement and create around 250 direct and indirect jobs, according to The Times of India. The plant features vertical roller mills supplied by Loesche and will be powered by a 5MW captive solar plant currently under construction.

Vice chair K Ravi said “This facility reinforces our commitment to operational efficiency, product quality and customer trust. With this addition, we are well-positioned to meet rising demand and support India’s infrastructure growth with reliable building materials.”

India: Ambuja Cements recorded a profit after tax of US$259m in the second quarter of the 2026 financial year (FY2026), which runs from July to September, up from US$55.8m in the same period of the 2025 financial year. Revenue from operations rose by 18% year-on-year, from US$850m to US$1.03bn.

CEO Vinod Bahety said “This quarter has been noteworthy for the cement industry. Despite the headwinds from prolonged monsoons, the sector will benefit from the tailwinds of several favourable developments including GST 2.0 reforms, the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), and the withdrawal of coal cess (tax). We have upped our FY2028 target capacity by 15Mt/yr, from 140Mt/yr to 155Mt/yr. This increase of 15Mt/yr from debottlenecking initiatives will come at a much lower capex of US$48/t.”Bahety said that debottlenecking of plant logistics infrastructure will also increase the utilisation of the company’s existing capacity of 107Mt/yr by 3%.

India: FLSmidth has signed a contract with UltraTech Cement to supply two new Cross-Bar coolers with HRBs to upgrade the pyroprocessing lines at its Dalavoi and Sankar Nagar plants in Tamil Nadu. The upgrades aim to increase efficiency and productivity at both facilities.

India: Shree Cement has commissioned a 20MW solar power plant in Chitrakoot district, Uttar Pradesh. Phase I has achieved commercial operation, with Phase II expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of the 2026 financial year. The facility will supply renewable power to the company’s Etah grinding unit and is expected to offset about 22,000t/yr of CO₂ emissions.

The project will create 30-40 jobs for the local community. With this commissioning, Shree Cement’s total installed solar capacity stands at 313MW across India.

Managing director Neeraj Akhoury said “Each new plant is an opportunity to innovate, integrate renewable energy and lead the cement sector toward a sustainable, low-carbon future, creating lasting value for both the business and the environment.”

India: JK Cement has commissioned a new 1Mt/yr cement grinding facility at its Prayagraj works, raising the unit’s capacity from 2Mt/yr to 3Mt/yr and the company’s total grey cement capacity from 25.3Mt/yr to 26.3Mt/yr. The project forms part of JK Cement’s 6Mt/yr capacity expansion plan approved in January 2024, which includes brownfield projects in Panna, Hamirpur and Prayagraj, and a greenfield plant in Bihar.

India: Sagar Cements reported sales of US$146m in the first half of the 2026 financial year, up by 22% year-on-year. Its costs also rose steeply, by 11%, to US$149m. As such, its loss before interest and taxation was US$2.58m. This represents a successful reduction of 82%, from US$14.4m in the first half of the 2025 financial year. Sagar Cements proceeded with expansion projects at its Andhra Cements and Jeerabad cement plants ‘as per plan.’ Subsidiary Andhra Cements has since commissioned a six-stage preheater at its Dachepalli Plant in Andhra Pradesh on 23 October 2025. By the end of the 2026 financial year, Sagar Cements expects to commission a 4.35MW waste heat recovery plant at its Gudipadu plant in Andhra Pradesh and complete a 50% capacity expansion at its Jeerabad plant in Madhya Pradesh, up to 1.5Mt/yr. The group forecast full-year sales volumes of 6Mt.

Capital Markets News has reported that Joint Managing Director Sreekanth Reddy said "Our focus on operational efficiency and cost optimisation helped us sustain healthy margins even in a softer pricing environment. EBITDA/tonne remained resilient, supported by higher plant utilisation levels and disciplined cost management across the value chain. We have maintained our growth momentum in the second quarter of the 2025 financial year, despite the seasonal impact of the monsoon. As expected, realisations softened during the quarter; however, the overall operating environment remained stable, with costs remaining low.” Looking ahead to the current, second half of the financial year, Reddy said "With the monsoon season now behind us, we expect demand momentum to pick up, led by the continued push in infrastructure, housing and other construction activities.”

India: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has directed the initiation of insolvency proceedings against Jaiprakash Associates subsidiary Bhilai Jaypee Cement over debts owed to coal supplier Sidhgiri Holdings, amounting to US$5.12m. News18 News has reported that the NCLT has suspended the company’s board and appointed an interim resolution professional.

Sidhgiri Holdings sent a statutory demand notice in June 2024 over three partly-paid purchase orders for 6000t of coal between September 2021 and June 2022. The principal amount is US$3.43m, with US$1.74m in interest accrued.

Bhilai Jaypee Cement contested the insolvency plea, claiming that Sidhgiri Holdings filed it with an intent of recovery, because Bhilai Jaypee Cement is solvent.

India: Ambuja Cements has placed a US$100m order for seven 19,000dwt bulk carriers from China-based Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding. The Economic Times newspaper has reported that the vessels will serve logistics operations at the company’s 6.1Mt/yr Sanghi Cement plant in Gujarat.

India: Aditya Birla Group subsidiary UltraTech Cement’s revenues grew by 21% year-on-year to US$2.33bn in the second quarter of the 2026 financial year. ET Now News has reported that the producer’s profit was US$148m, up by 75% year-on-year. During the quarter, UltraTech Cement’s costs rose by US$2.28/t, contributing towards a 45% quarter-on-quarter drop in its net profit.

In the 2026 financial year to-date, UltraTech Cement acquired a 76% stake in fellow producer The India Cements and acquired putty producer Birla White Wallcare outright.

India: Dalmia Bharat recorded sales of US$849m in the first half of the 2026 financial year, which began on 1 April 2026. This corresponds to a year-on-year rise of 5%. The producer also increased its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), by 43%. As a result, its profit after tax more than tripled to US$76.4m.

During the first half of the 2026 financial year, Dalmia Bharat sold 13.9Mt of cement, down by 2% year-on-year from 14.1Mt in the first half of the 2025 financial year.