Displaying items by tag: India
UltraTech fails to deny Jaypee takeover rumours
05 December 2012India: UltraTech Cement has reported to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has not issued any press releases concerning rumours in the Indian press that it is in talks to buy Jaypee Group's cement business in Gujarat. It added that the company does not comment on market speculation. Jaypee has not commented.
Indian press reported that UltraTech is planning to buy Jaypee Group's cement business in Ahmedabad for US$700- 890m by the end of 2012. UltraTech is allegedly 'keen' to buy Jaypee's 4.8Mt/yr Gujarat capacity at US$160- 165/t. Jaypee want to sell it at US$180-185/t.
Jaypee Group is the India's third largest cement maker with an installed capacity of 33.5Mt/yr. Jaiprakash Associates, the flagship company of the group, holds the majority of the cement business. However, operations in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, which have a total capacity of 9.8Mt/yr, are run by Jaypee Cement, which was hived off six months ago for monetising the asset. UltraTech Cement is a part of the US$24.5bn diversified Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group. The company, along with its subsidiaries, has a cement production capacity of 52Mt/yr.
India slows Pakistan exports with US$10,000 guarantee
28 November 2012India: India has made all cement exports subject to a US$10,000 Performance Bank Guarantee. A letter issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to all foreign cement manufacturers explained that cement exporters will have to submit this guarantee in order to be qualified to export cement to the country.
Pakistan cement producers view this as another non-tariff barrier imposed by the BIS to restrict cement exports from Pakistan despite the country being designated 'most favoured nation' status by India effective from 1 January 2013.
According to an industry official quoted by the Pakistani Observer, India has previously used non-tariff barriers to slow Pakistan exports. In 2007 the BIS issued licenses to Pakistani cement manufacturers after physical verification of their production process but these expired leading to slowdowns in cement exports.
Heroin found in Pakistan cement exports
07 November 2012Pakistan: The Pakistan Railways, Custom authorities and All Pakistan Cement Manufactures Association (APCMA) have decided to tighten security arrangements at the border with India following reports that heroin has been smuggled into India disguised as cement exports from Pakistan. The decision was made during a meeting between the three organisations.
Indian custom authorities have caught heroin from Pakistan cement four times within the last few months, according to APCMA sources. Proposed measures to improve security have included deploying more custom officials at the loading stations, further checks by officials and special locks for railway bogies.
According to the APCMA, despite increased demand for cement in India, exports from Pakistan have declined by 15.7% so far in 2011. Pakistan Railways have commented that the decision to tighten security arrangements at the border have been taken to save the country from 'defamation'.
India Cements plans 3Mt/yr brownfield expansion
31 October 2012India: India Cements has started gathering documentation for a 3Mt/yr expansion at two of its plants in Tamil Nadu. The company's next step is to secure clearance for these projects.
Brownfield expansions are being planned for Dalavoi, in Ariyalur district of Tamil Nadu, where the company plans to add a new line that will add over 2.55Mt/yr to the existing 2.16Mt/yr cement capacity. This will increase the total capacity at the plant to 4.71Mt/yr. A 40MW captive power plant will also be set up to supply electricity for the upgrade. At Sankaridurg the company plans to double the capacity of its 0.7Mt/yr plant.
If approved, the upgrades will increase India Cements' capacity to 15.5Mt/yr in its eight plants in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Bertrand takes the reigns at Sagar Cements
24 October 2012India: Sagar Cements has announced its director, Wemer CR Poot, has resigned from the board with effect from 28 September 2012. John Eric Fernand Pascal Cesar Bertrand has been appointed as the new company director from 17 October 2012.
Himenviro acquires Intensiv-Filter
24 October 2012Germany: Indian filter manufacturer Himenviro has invested in Intensiv-Filter & Co KG. On 1 October 2012 Himenviro acquired around 60 employees at Intensiv-Filter's Velbert-Langenberg site. The German industrial dust specialist declared insolvency in May 2012.
"The competence and experience of the Intensiv-Filter team combined with the technical know-how of the investor has set the course for a long-term successful filter technology company," said temporary insolvency trustee Dr Marc d'Avoine. Part of the agreement between the insolvency administrator and the Himenviro was to maintain the employment of Intensiv-Filter's experienced workforce.
Aditya Birla revives Jaypee deal
24 October 2012India: Business conglomerate Aditya Birla Group has revived negotiations to purchase cement manufacturer Jaiprakash Associates' cement plants in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
Aditya Birla is reported to have made an offer of up to US$130/t to buy the cement assets of Jaiprakash Associates which have an overall capacity of 9.8Mt. This follows Irish building materials firm CRH decision to cancel talks with Jaiprakash Associates in early October 2012. In August 2012 CRH was reportedly close to buying a 51% equity stake in the Indian cement producer's plants in Gujarat. Top officials from Aditya Birla's cement business and executives from foreign lender Barclays Bank are in talks to finalise the pricing of the deal.
UltraTech net profit nearly doubles
22 October 2012India: UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company, has posted a 97% rise in net profit to US$102.5m in the second quarter of the 2012 fiscal year from US$51.9m in 2011 after it recorded a strong pick-up in demand for cement.
Quarterly net sales stood at US$875m compared year-on-year to US$728m, a rise of 20%. However, variable costs rose by 8% in the quarter ending 30 September 2012. "This was mainly on account of higher raw material prices, which are linked to the last increase in railway freight and increase in diesel prices," said UltraTech in a press release.
The company's initiative towards setting up additional clinkerisation plants at Chhattisgarh and Karnataka are expected to be operational from early 2013-14. The company's cement capacity will be enhanced by 10.2Mt/yr.
Heidelberg Cement India reports Q3 profit of US$1.42m
16 October 2012India: Heidelberg Cement India has reported an increase in its net profit for the third quarter of 2012, which ended on 30 September 2012, of US$1.42m, compared to a net loss of US$1.55m for the same period in 2011. Total income for the quarter increased by 23.1% to US$48.6m from US$39.5m.
HeidelbergCement India is a subsidiary of Cementrum IBV, a company incorporated under the laws of The Netherlands that is 100% controlled by HeidelbergCement AG.
Pfeiffer strengthens long-standing business relations in India
11 October 2012India: Gebr. Pfeiffer SE has secured an order from Shree Cement to provide a MPS 5000 B vertical roller mill for its RAS works in Rajasthan. The order follows a similar order from earlier in 2012 for production line seven at the RAS works.
The mill will feature a 3400kW drive designed to grind 420t/hr of raw material to a product fineness of 2% R212µm. Petcoke which is used as fuel at the works, will be ground to a fineness of 1-2% R 90µm in an MPS 2800 BK coal mill, which will come equipped with a 720-kW drive and an integrated high-efficiency classifier of the type SLS-BK.
Core components of the mills and the gear units will be supplied from Europe by Gebr. Pfeiffer SE. Gebr. Pfeiffer (India), the Indian subsidiary of Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, will source components such as the housing of the mills and the classifiers, the foundation parts as well as the internal parts of the classifiers. Additionally, the Indian subsidiary will design the layout of the grinding plants at its Noida-based offices and will advise Shree Cement on equipment procurement.