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Displaying items by tag: India
India: Ambuja Cements sold 6.7Mt of cement during the second quarter of its 2023 financial year, up by 12% year-on-year. Its standalone revenues were US$443m, up by 13% from second-quarter 2022 financial year levels. Cost growth outstripped sales at 32% year-on-year, resulting in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$36.7m, down by 57% year-on-year.
CEO Ajay Kapur said "The cement industry has been facing significant margin pressure resulting from a steep rise in global energy prices. However, recent cooling off in energy prices and post-monsoon demand pickup appears to present a silver lining for the coming quarters."
Kapur said that Ambuja Cement's focus is currently on future capacity expansions, with the aim of becoming India's market leader.
UAE: Asian Paints has partnered with Riddhi Siddhi Crusher & Land Transport and Associated Soap Stone Distributing Company in a 60:40 joint venture for the purpose of white cement and white cement clinker production. The joint venture will invest US$66.5m in the construction of a planned 265,000t/yr integrated cement plant in the Emirate of Fujairah. The project will take until October 2024 to complete. In addition, the new company plans to establish grinding units in India to serve the export market.
Riddhi Siddhi Crusher & Land Transport and Associated Soap Stone Distributing Company operates limestone mines in Fujairah.
UltraTech Cement's first-half 2023 financial year results show profit decline despite sales growth
20 October 2022India: UltraTech Cement's consolidated sales were US$3.51bn during the first half of the 2023 financial year, which began on 1 April 2022, up by 22% from US$2.88bn in the first half of the 2022 financial year. Its net profit was US$283m, down by 22% year-on-year from US$363m. This was due to a 32% cost rise to US$3.13bn from US$2.38bn. Power and fuel contributed 32% of costs at US$1bn, up by 68% from US$598m in the first half of the 2021 financial year.
UltraTech Cement said that it began to see signs of cement demand revival in September 2022, following traditionally subdued second-quarter demand due to seasonal rains.
India: Shree Cement has appointed Neeraj Akhoury as its designated managing director. Hari Mohan Bangur has also been appointed as chair and Prashant Bangur as Vice Chair. All these personnel changes are subject to approval by the members of the company. In addition, Gopal Bangur has resigned as chair and will become Chairman Emeritus.
Akhoury holds nearly 30 years of professional experience in the cement and steel sectors. He began his career in 1993 at Tata Steel, working for both the cement and steel divisions. He joined Lafarge India in 1999 and worked as member of the Executive Committee responsible for corporate affairs followed by sales. In 2011, he moved to Nigeria as the head of Lafarge AshakaCem. Later, he was appointed as Strategy & Business Development Director for the Middle East & Africa at Lafarge’s headquarters in Paris. He became the head of LafargeHolcim Bangladesh in 2015 and then was appointed as the head of ACC in 2017 and Ambuja Cement in 2020.
Akhoury is a graduate in economics from Allahabad University and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Liverpool. He has also studied one-year General Management Program at XLRI Jamshedpur and is an alumunus of Harvard Business School.
India: ACC recorded consolidated sales of US$1.56bn in the first nine months of 2022, up by 8.3% year-on-year from US$1.44bn in the first nine months of 2021. The producer's cement sales were US$1.44bn, up by 7.2% from US$1.35bn. A 24% cost increase, to US$1.49bn from US$1.2bn, caused ACC's profit for the period to fall to US$64.8m, down by 66% from US$191m in the first nine months of 2021.
ACC said that its power and fuel costs rose by 51% to US$443m, its freight costs rose by 8.5% to US$376m and its raw materials costs rose by 24% to US$243m.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter of 2022, chief executive offcier Sridhar Balakrishnan said “The post-monsoon quarter will see the traditional rebound for the sector. Recent cooling off in energy costs will impact us positively."
Prism Cement secures cement supply in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh from local grinding plants
19 October 2022India: Prism Cement, part of Prism Johnson, has signed supply agreements with three cement producers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Mayflex Cement Industries, RLJ Infracement and Rockhill Hi-Tech Cement will supply the cement producer and distributor with cement from their respective grinding plants, which have a total capacity of 820,000t/yr. Prism Cement said that the agreements will help it to improve local availability in the strategic markets of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Bihar contributed 19% of Prism Johnson's cement sales by volume in the 2022 financial year, and Uttar Pradesh 55%.
Mayflex Cement Industries reportedly commissioned its new 300,000t/yr Faizabad grinding plant in Uttar Pradesh earlier in 2022.
India: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) and Sagar Cements have submitted acquisition offers to Andhra Cements' administrator and committee of creditors. The Business Standard newspaper reported that the company owes its lenders total debts of US$118m and is valued at between US$42.5m and US$48.6m.
HeidelbergCement India's second-quarter sales drop
18 October 2022India: HeidelbergCement India recorded consolidated sales of US$61.5m during the second quarter of its 2023 financial year, down by 11% year-on-year from US$69.2m in the second quarter of the 2022 financial year. The Heidelberg Materials subsidiary's net profit in the quarter fell by 88% over the year, to US$852,000 from US$7.24m in the 2022 financial year's second quarter. The second quarter of the 2023 financial year brought a 0.3% year-on-year drop in the producer's operating expenses, to US$55.7m from US$55.9m.
Udaipur Cement Works announces bonds sale to raise US$42.6m
18 October 2022India: Udaipur Cement Works plans to raise US$42.6m through the sale of bonds, Reuters News has reported. The producer says that the bonds will mature in March 2025.
India: During the second quarter of the 2023 financial year, Shree Cement recorded standalone sales of US$459m, up by 18% year-on-year from US$389m in the second quarter of the 2022 financial year. The figure represents a quarter-on-quarter drop of 10% from US$510m during the first quarter of the present financial year. The producer reported cost increases as a percentage of revenues to 33% for fuel and power, 7.6% for raw materials and 1.6% for inventory costs during the quarter. It said that this resulted in a 67% year-on-year drop in its standalone net profit to US$22.9m, from US$70.2m in the second quarter of the 2022 financial year.