Adani to continue using ACC, Ambuja brands; no plans to merge cement units

By Dhwani Pandya

(Reuters) - India's Adani Group will continue to use its ACC and Ambuja cement brands to sell cement products and has no plans to merge the two entities, Ajay Kapur, chief executive officer of both cement companies, said at an annual shareholder meeting.

The group became India's second-largest cement producer in 2022, behind UltraTech Cement, with its $10.5 billion acquisition of both Ambuja Cements and ACC from Switzerland's Holcim.

Media reports had said earlier this year that the Adani Group was exploring a merger between the two companies.

"No disruption is expected in the usage of these legacy brands," added Kapur.

Shares of the two companies were, however, still trading lower than their January levels after a U.S. short-seller report battered shares of Adani group companies.

Ambuja and ACC were down 15.7% and 23% so far, respectively, since Hindenburg disclosed its short positions.

"We are looking to improve the cement business's EBITDA margins by 400-450 rupees per ton over the next 24 months," Kapur said, pointing to efforts to bring down production costs by streamlining manufacturing and logistics processes.ACC is looking to add 16 million tonnes of new capacity in the next two to five years as India's cement demand is seen growing at 7-8%, Kapur added.

The company's new plant in Ametha in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is expected to start operations soon.

The expansion is part of the Adani Group's previously announced plans to double its overall cement production capacity over five years.

 

(Reporting by Dhwani Pandya; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)