Dalmia Cement shifts to green fuel to rein in high input cost

Cement demand was not strong in the first half of FY22, but Dalmia Cement expects that to change from December as the vaccination drive ramps up

Dalmia Cement has turned to using biomass and industrial waste to protect itself from fuel price fluctuations that are eating into its margins.

The company is also looking to raise Rs 10,000 crore for capital expenditure between FY22 and FY24 after reaching a negligible debt level. “We are almost debt-free now. This capex will be a combination of internal accruals and debt,” said Singhi. The firm’s net debt to EBITDA ratio was at 0.48x as of September 30.

“We have increased the share of green fuel (biomass and industrial waste) in our total fuel consumption to 12 per cent and plan to