Displaying items by tag: India

India: Shree Cement’s profit plunged by more than 80% year-on-year to US$11.0m in the three months to 30 September 2024, weighed down by weakness in both demand and low prices. While the September quarter is seasonally weak for cement makers in India, the country's third largest producer's sales volume slipped as compared to the previous year too, falling by 7% to 7.6Mt.

Neeraj Akhoury, managing director of Shree Cement, said "Despite strong headwinds on account of an extended monsoon season and softer pricing environment across the industry, Shree Cement has delivered a steady performance on the back of accelerated operational efficiency measures, focused cost optimisation drive and product ‘premium-isation’ initiatives.” He added that the company expects an increase in demand in the remainder of the 2025 fiscal year due to the release of government budgetary allocations for national infrastructure projects.

India: The India Cements’ revenue fell by 24% year-on-year to US$244m in the six months to 30 September 2024 from US$320m in the same period in 2023. Its reported loss grew to US$33.3m from US$19.8m. Sales volumes declined by 15% to 4.26Mt from 5.04Mt. The company’s performance was negatively affected by weak cement demand and a significant decline in prices, according to the Hindu newspaper. It also said that is was unable to benefit from lower fuel costs, particularly petcoke, as lower sales volumes reduced its margins. The cement producer was purchased by UltraTech Cement in July 2024.

India: Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA) India has entered talks with UK-based Xynteo and the Build Ahead coalition to scale up decarbonisation in India’s construction sector. The partners have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote low-carbon cement and concrete usage. This two-year collaboration will develop emission thresholds for cement and concrete as a basis for future policy on production and use of low-carbon materials. The initiative will also include joint governmental engagement and the sharing of research for low-carbon building materials.

Deepak Khetrapal, GCCA India co-chair and Orient Cement managing director, said "The reduction of clinker factor and the increasing use of supplementary cementitious materials in cement manufacturing is an important decarbonisation lever for the industry. Developing an India-specific definition for ‘low-carbon’ or ‘green’ cement and concrete is the need of the hour, and it is crucial for the development of a net zero CO₂ roadmap for the Indian cement and concrete industry."

India: Kanodia Cement plans to launch an initial public offering to raise approximately US$95m, with a draft red herring prospectus expected to be filed with market regulator SEBI by the end of December 2024. The company currently has a production capacity of 5Mt/yr, with plants in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. CEO Gautam Kanodia said that the company has plans to expand its cement capacity to 10Mt/yr.

India: Adani Group has entered talks with the Odisha government to construct its first greenfield cement plant. Ambuja Cements, a subsidiary of the Adani group, is likely to build the 4Mt/yr unit for US$357 – 416m. The plant is expected to be operational by the 2028 financial year, according to the Hindustan Times. This follows Adani's recent announcement of a new clinker grinding unit in Bihar for US$190 – 238m. Funding for the plant will reportedly come from internal accruals.

India: Ambuja Cements has reported a 22% year-on-year fall in standalone net profit to US$60.4m for the quarter ending September 2024, down from US$77.6m in the same period in 2023. Revenue from operations rose by 6% year-on-year to US$507m, compared to US$478m in the previous corresponding period. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the quarter also decreased by 12% year-on-year to US$82.3m. The company aims to achieve 100Mt/yr capacity by the end of the 2024 financial year, following the acquisition of a 47% share in Orient Cements.

India: Dalmia Cement will set up a new cement plant in Madhya Pradesh with a capacity of 4Mt/yr, at a cost of US$475m. This plant will reportedly be the first in the country to operate entirely using renewable energy, according to Group Managing Director Punit Dalmia.

India: UltraTech Cement has entered a collaboration agreement with the Institute for Carbon Management (ICM) at the University of California (UCLA) to develop new technology that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cement production. The partnership will see the construction of a demonstration plant at one of UltraTech's integrated cement plants. Further details on the technology are available in Global Cement’s news story from 15 October 2024.

India: Adani Group subsidiary Ambuja Cements has entered talks for the acquisition of Orient Cement (OCL) at a value of US$451m. Ambuja Cements will acquire 47% of OCL's shares from its current promoters and certain public shareholders, fully funded through internal accruals. Orient Cement has two cement plants in the south and one in western India, according to Reuters.

Director of Ambuja Cements, Karan Adani, said "This timed acquisition marks another significant step forward in Ambuja Cements' accelerated growth journey, increasing cement capacity by 30Mt/yr within two years of Ambuja's acquisition. By acquiring OCL, Ambuja is poised to reach 100Mt/yr cement capacity in the financial year 2025. The acquisition will help to expand Adani Cement's presence in core markets and improve its pan-India market share by 2%. OCL's assets are highly efficient, equipped with railway sidings and well supported by captive power plants, renewable energy, waste heat recovery systems, and alternative fuel and raw material facilities. OCL's strategic locations, high-quality limestone reserves and requisite statutory approvals present an opportunity to increase cement capacity in the near term to 16.6Mt/yr."

India: Jindal Panther Cement (JPC), part of the Jindal Group, has commissioned its first cement grinding unit with a capacity of 1.5Mt/yr at Angul, Odisha. The unit will use about 1Mt/yr of blast furnace slag from Jindal subsidiary Jindal Steel & Power’s (JSPL) nearby integrated steel plant, operating with the industry's lowest clinker factor as part of its decarbonisation strategy. The Angul grinding unit will produce low-carbon Portland slag and composite cement for central and eastern India, repurposing waste from JSPL's operations and aligning with the group's decarbonisation goals. In the future, JPC plans to increase production capacity at both of its facilities, Angul and Raigarh, to 7Mt/yr, with an investment of US$257m.

CEO of JPC, Rohit Vohra, said "The commissioning of our Angul grinding unit marks a significant step in our journey towards a sustainable future. Our low-carbon cement and innovative distribution model position us uniquely to support eastern India's infrastructure growth while contributing to a greener planet."