Displaying items by tag: India
Dalmia Bharat Group plans US$293m investment in Odisha
05 December 2016India: Dalmia Bharat Group plans to spend US$293m towards increasing its production capacity in Odisha. The cement producer has joined the 'Make in Odisha Conclave,' according to the Press Trust of India. It has a production capacity of 5.5Mt/yr from two plants in the state. Mahendra Singhi, Group chief executive officer of Dalmia Bharat Group, said that Odisha’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 12% by 2020. He added that the state government's commitment to industrial development is backed by industry-friendly policies that are already showing positive results.
India: LafargeHolcim has received environment clearance to raise the production capacity of its Nongtrai limestone mine in Meghalaya to 5Mt/yr from 2Mt/yr for US$28m. The mine is operated by Lafarge Umiam Mining, a subsidiary of Lafarge Surma Cement, according to the Press Trust of India. Limestone from the mine is transported across the border to Lafarge Surma Cement’s plant in Bangladesh. The increased limestone is expected to increase the production capacity at the plant to 5.5Mt/yr from 2.2Mt/yr.
The mine expansion project is subject to final outcomes of cases pending before Supreme Court, High Court and National Green Tribunal. LafargeHolcim’s subsidiaries have also been asked to obtain clearance from the National Board of Wildlife and the State Pollution Control Board.
India: Dalmia Bharat's income has risen by 14% year-on-year to US$577m in the first half of its financial year, which ended on 30 September 2016, from US$505m in the same period of the previous financial year. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 28% to US$135m from US$105m. Its sales volumes rose by 21% to 7.18Mt from 5.95Mt. The cement producer explained that it had focused on building up existing capacity and entering new markets in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during the period.
Birla Corporation sales rise in first half of 2016
25 November 2016India: Birla Corporation’s sales revenue has risen by 6.2% to US$280m in the first half of its financial year, which ended on 30 September 2016, from US$263m in the same period of 2015. Its net profit more than tripled to US$22.3m from US$7.04m. Sales from its cement division rose by 5.6% to US$256m from US$242m. No comment on the results was given but in August 2016 Birla completed its acquisition of Reliance Infrastructure for US$702m.
Telangana state government signs deal for 2.7Mt of cement
25 November 2016India: The Telangana state government has signed an agreement with 32 cement companies to procure 2.73Mt of cement to build residential housing. The government plans to build 260,000 double-bedroom houses for disadvantaged residents in the state, according to the Indo-Asian News Service. The Telangana Housing Corporation will implement the scheme.
My Home Industries launches new logo
25 November 2016India: My Home Industries has launched a new logo for its flagship brand Maha Cement. “We have been around for nearly 18 years and our logo for our flagship brand Maha Cement has remained that of an old-style muscle man. But change is always required. The new logo has replaced the muscleman with a modern technician attesting for its quality,” said S Sambasiva Rao, Executive Director of My Home Industries in an interview with the New Indian Express newspaper. The joint venture between India’s My Home Group and Ireland’s CRH is expanding its business and building a 1.2Mt/yr plant at Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
Larsen & Toubro lays off 14,000 workers
24 November 2016India: Engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) laid off 14,000 employees between April and September 2016 or about 11% of its workforce. The reduction in its employees has been done to remove ‘redundant’ jobs, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. Both revenue and profit for the company as a whole and for its Heavy Engineering division rose for the first half of 2016.
India to take 20% hit in cement demand due to demonetisation
22 November 2016India: Demonetisation policy is expected to reduce cement demand by 15 – 20% until the end of 2016. It will then reduce growth by 3% in the last quarter of the Indian financial year that runs until the end of March 2017, according to a report by Deutsche Bank Markets Research. It added that investors forecast the drop in short-term demand to be ‘severe.’
Research Analyst Chockalingam Narayanan said that he expected demand from infrastructure projects to partially offset weakness in the residential sector. However, investment towards these projects may be impaired where the revenue comes from state government. These bodies rely on up to 10% of their revenue from the property sector that may be adversely effected by demonetisation. Local bodies are responsible for projects such as rural roads, urban development projects, affordable housing, irrigation and more. Larger road and railway budgets are mostly controlled by central government agencies and are expected to be less effected.
Shree Cement denies links to Shiva Cement deal
21 November 2016India: Shree Cement has denied that it is in talks to buy a majority stake in Shiva Cement describing media reports as ‘purely speculative.’ Local media had reported that Shree was considering buying Shiva for around US$0.22/share.
Shiva Cement has a 0.2Mt/yr cement plant near Rourkela in Sundergarh district in Odisha with on-going plans to upgrade the site to 1Mt/yr. The company also has captive limestone reserves in the area and produces both Sumangal
LafargeHolcim increases stake in Ambuja Cement and ACC
16 November 2016India: LafargeHolcim has increased its shareholding in Ambuja Cement and ACC via its subsidiary Holderind Investments. It now owns 63% of Ambuja Cement’s shares and 4.5% of ACC’s shares. The group will pay for the additional stakes in Indian Rupees. The impact on LafargeHolcim’s net debt will be Euro302m. It described India as one of LafargeHolcim’s key markets with solid long-term fundamentals and a clear potential for further improvement in business performance.