Will finalise deal for buying Indonesian mine next quarter.
Chennai-based India Cements is planning to invest around Rs 1,500 crore over the next two years for setting up a greenfield project in Rajasthan, power plants in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and acquiring a coal mine abroad. The company’s board today approved fund-raising to the tune of $100 million (Rs 500 crore).
Speaking to reporters here, N Srinivasan, vice-chairman and managing director, said the board approved the proposal for raising funds not exceeding Rs 500 crore through issue of equity/equity-linked instruments from domestic and global markets.
The funds are required for various projects being undertaken by the company, repayment of debts and general purposes.
“This is an enabling resolution. We will try to fund the projects through internal accruals. We will raise the money if needed,” said Srinivasan.
The company is planning to set up a cement facility in Rajasthan with a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes. It is also planning to set up 100 Megawatt (Mw) coal-based plants in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh at an investment of Rs 500 crore. The company’s current power requirement is 160-170 MW while the generating capacity is 50-60 MW.
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The frequent power cuts in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had impacted production at the company’s plants and increased spends on power and fuel. The company’s expense on power and fuel in the quarter ended March 31, 2009, rose 18 per cent to Rs 233.91 crore, from Rs 198.46 crore a year ago. India Cements is hoping this to come down by 15 per cent when its power plants start operation. “More than the cost, our external dependency will come down,” said Srinivasan.
Meanwhile, to meet its coal requirement, the company is planning to acquire a coal mine in Indonesia. “Technical due diligence is over and we will finalise the deal in the next quarter,” he said.
The company expects around 30 million tonnes from this mine. Currently, India Cements’ total requirement is 800-900 tonnes for cement and 400,000 for power.
Meanwhile, the company has reported 10 per cent drop in net profit to Rs 93.86 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, as compared with Rs 104.44 crore a year ago.
“One of the biggest challenges during the year was rise in raw materials prices, compounded by the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar, which increased the cost of production, resulting in lower operating margin,” he said. India Cements’ other income rose to Rs 115.41 crore.