| CEMENT Update
Cement production grows marginally in April 2009
Cement production grew at a marginal rate in April 2009 as
several companies added little to their inventories by selling
less than what they had produced.
ACC produced 1.84 mn tonne and sold 1.80 mn tonne in April
2009, while Ambuja Cement produced 1.65 mn tonne and sold
1.54 mn tonne. Aditya Birla Group with a production capacity
of 35 mn tonne a year, through its flagship Grasim Industries
and UltraTech Cement, produced and sold 3.18 mn tonne in April.
However, sales and production of the industry were up 17.4
per cent and 16.4 per cent, respectively, as compared to April
2008.
BAI urges DIPP to rollback CVD on cement imports
The Builders’ Association of India (BAI) has urged the
Department of Industry Policy and Promotion (DIPP), to roll
back the countervailing duty (CVD) on cement imports to keep
the spiraling prices in check. The duty was reimposed in January
to give relief to the domestic players and keep a check on
the prices.
Currently, cement imports draw an 8 per cent CVD together
with a 4 per cent special custom duty. As part of the second
stimulus package, the government had lowered the excise duty
on bulk cement from 10 per cent to 8 per cent in February.
Besides, the CVD exemption was also lifted in January. Domestic
players, however, raised the price of the commodity by Rs
3-7 per bag (1 bag = 50 kg) in the past three months buoyed
by heavy demand triggered by the launch of some mass housing
projects by state governments, along with roads and irrigation
projects in rural areas. Despatches have gone up by 9.15 per
cent between January to March 2009 on a year-on-year basis.
India imports nearly 100,000 tonne of cement every month and
most of it is consumed in Delhi and Punjab. Cement imports
from Pakistan have increased in the last one month. Prices
of the commodity is likely to come under pressure in the coming
quarters in Delhi and adjoining areas as Pakistani exporters
quote a lower price to push the commodity into the Indian
market.
Contact: Builders’ Association of India,
Tel: 022-2351 4134. Fax: 022-2352 1328.
E-mail: bai@vsnl.com Website: www.baionline.in
L&T to sell 11.5 per cent stake in UltraTech
L&T is planning to sell around 11.5 per cent stake in
the Aditya Birla group company UltraTech Cement by December
2009. The business worth Rs 800 crore will help L&T to
prop up its bottom line in 2009-10. The company also plans
to realise Rs 100 crore of other income from the sale of its
ready mix concrete assets in 2009-10. It had sold that business
to Lafarge in 2008 for Rs 1,480 crore and is planning to sell
some other non-core assets, which are at sub Rs 500 crore
levels.
Contact: Larsen & Toubro Ltd.
E-mail: ccdpr@lth.ltindia.com
Website: www.larsentoubro.com
Shree Cement posts six-fold increase in profit
Shree Cement posted a six-fold increase in its net profit
in the fourth quarter ended on March 31, 2009. The company’s
profit in the quarter was Rs 235.63 crore as against Rs 41.07
crore during the corres-ponding quarter last fiscal. Total
income of the company also rose to Rs 811.64 crore from Rs
664.24 crore. It registered a net profit of Rs 577.96 crore
for the full year ended March 31, 2009 as compared to Rs 260.37
crore in the previous fiscal. While the total income increased
to Rs 2,740.57 from Rs 2,129.42 crore.
Contact: Shree Cement Ltd
Tel: 01462-228 101-06. Fax: 01462-228 117
E-mail: sclbwr@shreecementltd.com
Website: www.shreecementltd.com
Pak imports impact Delhi cement prices
Large scale imports from Pakistan have impacted the cement
prices in Delhi. For instance, the retail price of ACC Cement
in April was quoted at Rs 235 a (50 kg) bag in Delhi against
Rs 242 a bag in March. The price, during the corresponding
months of the previous year (April-May 2008) was Rs 242 a
bag.
Cement producers from Pakistan are despatching their surplus
produce at marginal price of $52-53 a tonne now. The quantity
imported during April 2009 is expected to be about 45,000
to 50,000 tonne
Cement players enter new markets
Despite the cement industry nearing oversupply, cement manufacturers
are entering into new markets to spread their footprint and
capture the growing demand in India. They are also adopting
different strategies to penetrate and compete with their competitors.
Binani Cement, which recently entered the Kolkata market,
is planning to go for exclusive dealership to penetrate in
the eastern markets. The company currently has 15 exclusive
dealers in Kolkata and is scouting for more dealers to increase
the sales of its commodity. It has also made its entry in
newer markets in Aurangabad, Nashik, Kolha-pur and Pune in
Maharashtra where it will have exclusive as well as regular
dealers. Similarly, Prism Cement is targeting the southern
markets to take the advantage of good realisation. The company
is currently setting up a 3 mn tonne green field plant in
Andhra Pradesh, which will be operational by 2011.
Birla Corp to expand cement capacity
Birla Corporation is planning to expand its cement capacity
by setting up a 1.2 mtpa cement plant along with a waste heat
recovery system and 30-MW captive power unit in Rajasthan.
The company will also increase its cement grinding capacity
at its Durgapur plant by six lakh tonne per annum (tpa) and
at its Satna plant to 2.25 mtpa by installing a coal washery,
a 30-MW thermal power plant, replacing the old cement mill
with a new one. These projects will be completed in two years.
Besides, the company also plans to set up 3 mtpa cement plant
at Satna with an investment of Rs 1,200-crore.
Contact: Birla Corporation Ltd
Tel: 033-2213 0380. Fax: 033-2248 2872.
E-mail: bmatilal@birlacorp.com
Website: www.birlacorporation.com
Chettinad Cement devises expansions plans
Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd plans to set up a 2-million-tonne
a year cement plant at its Dindigul unit in Tamil Nadu. The
plant will entail an investment of around Rs 500 crore. The
company already has a 1.4-million-tonne (mt) unit and a 15-MW
captive power plant at the unit. Besides, the company also
plans to set up a 2 mn tonne plant in Tiruchi with an investment
of Rs 450 crore.
Contact: Chettinad Cement Corporation Ltd
Tel: 044-2829 2727. Fax: 044-2829 1558.
E-mail: mdchettinadgroup@airtelmail.in
Website: www.chettinad.com
Shree Cements plans Rs 1,200 cr expansion
Shree Cements is planning to increase its capacity by 2.5
mn tonne in the current fiscal by setting up two grinding
units at Rajasthan and Uttarakhand and two power plants in
Bangur with a total investment of Rs 1,200 crore. The company
also plans to set up a 50 MW waste recovery power project
by 2010. This will help the company to save around Rs 40 lakh
a day as the company will utilise the waste heat generated
from its cement plant.
Contact: Shree Cement Ltd
Tel: 01462-228 101-06. Fax: 01462-228 117
Email: sclbwr@shreecementltd.com
Website:www.shreecementltd.com
UltraTech’s expansion plans unhindered
UltraTech Cement, the second-largest manufacturer in the country,
does not intend to rein in expansion plans even though the
domestic market is likely to see overcapacity in the next
few quarters. The Aditya Birla Group company has already spent
over Rs 3,000 crore to expand its production capacity from
17 mn tonne to 21.9 mn tonne and plans to further scale up
till 23.1 mn tonne by June-end. It currently has a share of
9 per cent in the domestic market, with units in Maharashtra,
Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. Its volume expansion in Andhra Pradesh, captive
power plants and softened coal prices islikely to help the
company to counter the current difficult times. Its new power
units will particularly help it to pare costs and offset the
effecton margins
Contact: UltraTech Cement
Tel: 91-22-66917800 Fax: 91-22-66928109
E-mail: sharesutcl@adityabirla.com
Website: www.ultratechcement.com
Ambuja Cements’ despatches
up by 1.59 lakh tonne
The Ambuja Cements' despatches grew by 1.59 lakh tonne in
April 2009 to 16.93 lakh tonne as against 14.80 lakh tonne
in the corresponding period during previous fiscal. Production
of the company also grew to 16.51 lakh tonne as against 15.45
lakh tonne last year.
Contact: Ambuja Cements Ltd
Tel: 022-6659 7300.
Fax: 022-2285 3051.
Website: www.gujaratambuja.com
Holcim plans 55 mn tonne capacity by 2011
Switzerland-based Holcim plans to increase its total cement
capacity in India to 55 mn tonne by 2011. The group is currently
executing several capacity expansion projects in the country.
It owns ACC and Ambuja Cement in India, besides operating
in more than 70 countries and having production facilities
at over 2,000 locations.
Contact: Holcim Ltd
Website: www.holcim.com
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