Cement Production

Cement and ready-mix concrete (RMC) company UltraTech Cement on Thursday said it has signed a collaboration agreement with the Institute for Carbon Management (ICM) for a new technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from cement production. The new technology, The Zero Carbon Lime (ZeroCAL), developed by ICM at the University of California, Los Angeles, can nearly reduce 98 per cent carbon dioxide emissions associated with limestone decomposition in cement manufacturing, the company said in a statement. ICM, in partnership with UltraTech, will build a first-of-a-kind demonstration plant for the technology at one of UltraTech's integrated cement manufacturing units, it added. "Partnerships like these, which place an emphasis on developing and deploying new and emerging technologies, will be a key enabler in our sector's efforts to accelerate decarbonisation and deliver carbon neutral concrete by 2050," UltraTech Managing Director K C Jhanwar added.

The potential deal is the latest in Adani Group's massive expansion push in the cement sector. The company entered the industry in 2022 by acquiring Holcim's stake in Ambuja Cement

Three of the top-five cement makers saw their dealer count fall in FY24

Brokerage firm Antique predicts that the cost curve for cement is likely to continue sliding downward in the second half of the financial year 2024-25

Leading cement manufacturers reported single-digit volume growth in the June quarter, though their topline was muted on account of the continued downtrend in the price. Listed manufacturers such as UltraTech, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Shree Cements, and Dalmia Bharat - in their latest quarter earnings reported gains in volumes, ranging from 3 to 9 per cent and increase in capacity utilisation. However, soft cement prices have put their topline under pressure in the April-June period. Besides, raw material costs went up marginally due to an increase in the cost of fly ash and slag. The all-India average cement price was at around Rs 348 per 50 kg bag in June 2024, down around 3 per cent year-on-year. However, this was higher when compared to Rs 335 per bag in May 2024. For the first two months of FY25, the average cement price was at Rs 340 per bag, down 8 per cent YoY. In FY24, the average price was Rs 365 per bag and Rs 375 per bag in FY23, according to the report. Moreover, intense .

M P Birla group flagship firm Birla Corporation on Thursday posted a 45 per cent decline in its net profit to Rs 33 crore during the first quarter of the 2024-25 fiscal as compared to Rs 60 crore in the year-ago period. A company statement said that revenue of the company during the April-June period also decreased by 8.9 per cent at Rs 2,207 crore as against Rs 2,423 crore in the similar previous quarter It said weak cement prices coupled with sluggish demand have weighed down the profitability of the June quarter. Sales volumes also declined marginally in the face of contracting demand. Faced with challenging market conditions, the Kolkata-headquartered company focused on reducing variable costs in cement production across its units. The jute division of the company registered a cash loss of Rs 3.9 crore in the quarter under review against a cash profit of Rs 6.4 crore in the similar previous period. Realisation of cement sales per tonne during the first three months of the curr

PCIL's strategic location and sufficient limestone reserves provide an opportunity to increase cement capacity through debottlenecking and additional investment

The government has issued mandatory quality norms for asbestos or fibre cement-based products to curb the import of sub-standard goods and boost domestic manufacturing. A notification 'Asbestos or Fibre Cement based Products (Quality Control) Order, 2024 ' was issued in this regard by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on March 6 this year. Under these orders, items cannot be produced, sold, traded, imported and stocked unless they bear the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark. "It shall come into force on the expiry of six months from the date of publication of this notification in the Official Gazette," the DPIIT notification said. To safeguard the domestic small/micro industries and ensure smooth implementation of the QCO and ease of doing business, relaxations have been granted to small/micro industries as regards to timeliness. An additional nine months have been given to small industries and an additional 12 months to micro industries to meet

Cement maker UltraTech on Saturday announced a fresh investment of Rs 13,000 crore to add production capacity by 21.9 million tonnes per annum in the third phase of the growth, taking its total capacity to 182 MTPA after completion. The board of the Aditya Birla Group flagship firm "approved the 3rd phase of growth with an investment of Rs 13,000 crore towards increasing the capacity by another 21.9 MTPA with a mix of brownfield and greenfield projects," said a statement from the company. The company has an existing capacity of 132.45 MTPA of domestic grey cement. "Post commissioning of the 3rd phase of expansion, approved by the Board today, UltraTech will be strongly placed across the country with 35.5 MTPA in south; 40.4 MTPA in east; 36.2 MTPA in north; 35.7 MTPA in central and 33.8 MTPA in the west," it added. This will be achieved by setting up 4 greenfield and 4 brownfield plants along with 4 greenfield bulk terminals. "Commercial production from these new capacities is ...

The cement sales volume is expected to have a healthy 9 to 10 per cent growth in the current fiscal, led by demand from infrastructure and urban housing sectors, according to a report. In the first half of this fiscal, the industry had a volume growth of around 12 per cent in the April-September period, said a report from rating agency Icra. However, there would be "some moderation in growth in H2" on account of below-normal monsoons on the overall crop output, adversely impacting farm incomes and demand for rural housing in some markets, it added. "Moreover, with the upcoming state elections the release of funds towards ongoing infra projects may slow down, posing some downside risks to cement volume off-take in H2 FY2024," it said. However, the operating margins for the cement industry is expected "to improve by 260-310 bps to 16.0-16.5 per cent in FY2024". The increasing focus on green power is likely to lower the cement industry's dependence on high-cost thermal power and grid

Revenue from operations fell about 4% to 1393 crore rupees, while raw materials cost surged 13.2%

With healthy demand drivers for cement - urban housing, government's infrastructure and rural development thrust, the industry is expected to close FY23 with a production of 380-390 mn ton

The two will be organising webinars, roundtables, industry meetings, and thought leadership articles towards knowledge building for the sector

After acquisition, Dalmia's capacity mix will include 52 per cent in the east, 26 per cent in the south, 16 per cent in the central region and 6 per cent in the west

Shree Cement adding 9 mtpa of capacity in the next 15 months, HM Bangur says; total cement production capacity of company to jump to 56.4 mtpa...

Operating profit margins likely to contract by 320-380 basis points to 16.3-16.8 per cent in FY23, says CareEdge Ratings, as input cost pressures remain

The company said profitability was impaired by a sharp increase in power and fuel costs, which could not be passed on to consumers

Cement major on track to reach 131.25 mtpa by Q4

Net sales up 7%; royalty agreement with Holcim terminated on Sept 16; paid Rs 264 cr as royalty and technical fees in CY21

Cost pressures a concern, though, as crude, currency volatility remain