Cement

Transaction estimated at $13 bn per year

Ultratech Cement saw volumes up 3 per cent, while Shriram Cement was the top volume gainer at 9 per cent, with Dalmia Bharat up 8 per cent

Company will set up grinding unit in Odisha's Angul to help plans for expansion

Cement maker ACC Ltd on Monday reported a decline of 22.46 per cent in its net profit to Rs 361.40 crore in the first quarter ended on June 2024. The company had posted a profit of Rs 466.14 crore in the April-June quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing from ACC, now a part of Adani Cement. Its revenue from operations was marginally lower at Rs 5,154.89 crore during the quarter under review. It was Rs 5,201.11 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. ACC's sales volume from Cement & Clinker in the April-June quarter was up 9 per cent at 10.2 million tonnes, which is the "highest ever volume" in Q1 over the last five years, according to an earning statement by the company. The volume growth was "supported by an increase in premium products and improvement in efficiency parameters, ensuring market leadership". Total expenses of ACC rose 1.84 per cent in the June 2024 quarter to Rs 4,741.27 crore. Its Kiln fuel cost improved, helped by change of fuel basket and ..

Top five domestic cement manufacturers could expand their market share to up to 55 per cent by March 2025, through organic and inorganic expansions, leading to further consolidation, said a report from rating agency ICRA. Helped by a healthy demand prospect, large companies operating in the cement sector are looking to increase their capacity and maintain market share, it said. "ICRA estimates that the market share of the top five cement companies witnessed a steep rise to 54 per cent as of December 2023, from 45 per cent as of March 2015, and expects it to further increase to 55 per cent by March 2025, resulting in consolidation in the cement industry," it said. While organic growth is expected to continue in the medium-term, cement companies are also preferring the inorganic route to boost capacities rapidly, leading to consolidation in the industry, it added. "Except the ACC and Ambuja acquisitions by the Adani Group, other mergers and acquisitions (M&As) were largely owing to .

Shree Cement, one of the top three players in the segment, on Friday announced entry into the ready mix concrete (RMC) segment with the commissioning of its first greenfield in Hyderabad. The new RMC plant has a capacity of 90 cubic metres per hour and would help the Bangur family-promoted firm to emerge as a multi-product player in the cement business, as per a company statement. "As part of this strategy, Shree Cements had acquired five operational plants of StarCrete LLP in Mumbai earlier this month for a consideration of Rs 33.5 crore. The company's combined RMC capacity now stands at 512 cubic metres per hour," it said. Shree Cement Managing Director Neeraj Akhoury said the venture into the RMC segment marks Shree Cement's entry into a new line of business. "We recognise the vast potential of RMC business, which is being driven by India's growth momentum, the concerted efforts of both central and state governments to advance infrastructure projects and an uptick in the housing

HeidelbergCement India Ltd on Wednesday reported an increase in net profit to Rs 31.47 crore for the December quarter, aided by reduction in operating costs. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 5.58 crore in the year-ago period, HeidelbergCement India said in a regulatory filing. Its total revenue from operations was up 12.4 per cent to Rs 607.13 crore in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal. It was Rs 540.12 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. "Revenue increased 12 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, driven by 10 per cent volume growth and 2 per cent price increase," the company said in an earning statement. Its operating costs on a per-tonne basis, including freight "decreased 2.4 per cent year-on-year primarily due to decrease in coal and petcoke costs". HeidelbergCement India's total expenses in the December quarter were Rs 577.58 crore, up 6.43 per cent. In the December quarter, HeidelbergCement's sales volum

The Adani Group-owned company's profit after tax surged nearly five-fold to 5.27 billion rupees ($63.4 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31

Cement maker Dalmia Bharat Ltd on Wednesday reported a 22 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 266 crore for the December quarter, helped by volume sales growth and correction in commodity prices. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 218 crore in the October-December quarter a year ago, according to a regulatory filing. Its revenue from operations grew 7.3 per cent to Rs 3,600 crore during the quarter under review. It was at Rs 3,355 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Dalmia Bharat's total expenses increased 6.37 per cent to Rs 3,303 crore during the quarter under review. Its sales volume climbed 8.1 per cent to 6.8 million tonnes in Q3 FY23. During the quarter, it also "received final instalment of Rs 120 crore from Hippostores Technology, a promoter group company, on account of sale of Hippo Stores," the company said in a earnings statement. Hippo Stores is a new business funded by the Dalmia Bharat group based on the Home Depot model b

To cash in on rising demand from infrastructure and housing sectors, the cement industry is on course to add capacity by 150-160 million tonnes from FY25 to FY28, a report said on Tuesday. In the past five fiscals, the industry has added capacity by 119 million tonnes (MT) per annum to reach a total of 595 MT now, according to a Crisil Ratings report. The capacity addition is for the purpose of meeting the rising demand as well as to consolidate market share in a highly fragmented and competitive industry, the report added. Cement demand grew 8 per cent in fiscal 2022 and 12 per cent in FY23. As much as 70-75 MT capacity addition is expected to be commissioned in next fiscal, with 50-55 per cent concentrated in the eastern and central regions. Large players will account for 50-55 per cent of the planned capacity addition, the report said, adding, however, incremental supply and stiffer competition will cap price growth but benign cost will protect and aid margins. Robust demand i

Most cement majors are pushing capex in anticipation of long-term demand

Leading cement maker UltraTech's consolidated sales rose by 6 per cent to 27.32 million tonnes (MT) year-on-year in the third quarter ended December 31, 2023. The total sales volume in the domestic market was up 5 per cent to 26.06 MT during the quarter under review, the Aditya Birla Group firm said in a regulatory filing. The company's grey cement production in the domestic market was at 25.44 MT in the October-December quarter FY24, reporting 5 per cent growth, while its white cement production was 0.48 MT, up 14 per cent. UltraTech's overseas production, mainly grey cement, was 1.38 MT in Q3/FY24, up 20 per cent, the statement added. The Aditya Birla Group firm has a consolidated capacity of 138.39 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of grey cement. It has 23 integrated manufacturing units, 29 grinding units, one clinkerisation unit and eight Bulk Packaging Terminals. UltraTech is the third largest cement producer in the world, excluding the China market.

In an email interaction with Abhishek Kumar, Upadhyaya says domestic-facing sectors like automotive, cement, and construction are a better bet right now as global uncertainties prevail

JK Cement Ltd (JKCL) on Saturday reported 62.18 per cent rise in consolidated profit to Rs 178.47 crore for the second quarter ended September 2023. It logged a net profit of Rs 110.04 crore in the July-September period a year ago, according to a regulatory filing by JKCL. Revenue from operation was up 23.23 per cent to Rs 2,752.77 crore during the quarter as against Rs 2,233.84 crore a year ago. Total expense in the September quarter was up 21.08 per cent at Rs 2,537.89 crore. Total income was Rs 2,782.10 crore, up 23.66 per cent year-on-year.

Stable prices and costs to help earnings report a higher growth over a low profitability base of last year

Companies which exceed their targets earn carbon credits that can be sold to firms which fall short of their goals

India has won the bid to host the International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement (ICCC) here in 2027, where global leaders, academicians, and professionals would deliberate on progress of research in this sector, an official statement said. The bid was won against UAE and Switzerland. The department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) said that India's leading research and academic institutes, National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCCBM) along with IIT Delhi successfully presented India's bid before the steering committee members of the conference during the ongoing 16th ICCC at Bangkok, Thailand. "The decision was announced on September 20, 2023 at Bangkok," it said. The conference is the largest event of its kind which reviews the progress of research in the area of cement and concrete, it added. The gathering has been held generally at intervals of four to six years since 1918. Last time it was held in 1992 in the national capital. "This even

MP Birla Group flagship company Birla Corporation has drawn up a strategy to augment its cement production capacity to 25 million tonnes by the 2025-26 fiscal from the existing 20 million tonnes, officials said on Tuesday. The cement maker is planning to meet its targeted production by increasing capacity utilisation at its Mukutban plant in Maharashtra, setting up the second clinker unit at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh and constructing new grinding units. "With the commissioning of Mukutban plant, we have virtually ring-fenced our core market of central India which we can service seamlessly from our six plants, namely Maihar, Satna, Kundangunj, Raebareli, Chanderia, and now, Mukutban. The strategic location of these plants and standardisation of product quality allow us to interchange source of supplies to maximise realisation and serviceability for our customers," Birla Corporation Chairman Harsh V Lodha told shareholders during the 103rd annual general meeting of the company ...

India's merchandise trade deficit rose faster-than-expected in May to $22.12 billion, up from $15.24 billion in April, due to reduced demand for Indian exports from developed countries

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Wednesday said it has offloaded a little over 2 per cent stake in India Cement through open market transactions between November 2007 and July 2023. "...Corporation's shareholding in 'India Cement Ltd' has diluted from 18,205,665 to 11,877,759 equity shares decreasing its shareholding from 5.875 per cent to 3.833 per cent of the paid-up capital of the said company," LIC said in a regulatory filing. These shares were sold at an average price of Rs 191.59 apiece during the period from November 21, 2007 to July 4, 2023. The holding decreased from 5.875 per cent to 3.833 per cent, a decline of 2.042 per cent, it said. Shares of LIC closed 0.81 per cent higher at Rs 626.95 apiece on the BSE.