Page 3 - Cement

India wins bid to host international conference on cement in 2027

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

Birla Corp plans to ramp up cement production to 25 mt by 2025-26 fiscal

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 ...

Export of steel, iron ore, cement likely to be hit by EU carbon tax: FinMin

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

LIC offloads over 2% shares in India Cement via open market transactions

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.

Focused on margin expansion to become profitable cement manufacturer: ACC

Adani group firm ACC Ltd is making remarkable strides in its ambitious endeavour to double capacities and is also focused on margin expansion to become the most profitable cement manufacturer in the country, according to its latest annual report. ACC Chairman Karan Adani said Adani group is adopting a three-pronged approach to the growth of its cement business, which also invests in branding and marketing strategy to take advantage of the existing legacy of the ACC brand and focus on strengthening the distributor and dealer network. "The first is to double our plant capacity with an emphasis on green cement. Our significant presence in the green energy business and utilisation of our fly ash, where possible, from our power generation business, aligns well with this approach. The second is to drive much greater operational efficiency to grow margins," Adani said in its message to shareholders in the annual report 2022-23. Besides ACC, which was acquired by billionaire Gautam Adani in

Cement prices likely to drop by 1-3% despite healthy demand: Crisil

According to the Crisil report, for the first time in many years, there were no pre-monsoon price hikes in April and May of the current fiscal year, despite steady demand

UltraTech Cement stock down 1% on net profit decline in March quarter

Shares of UltraTech Cement fell by over 1 per cent on Tuesday after the company reported a 36.1 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2023. The stock ended 1.30 per cent lower at Rs 7,456.05 on the BSE. During the day, it went down by 1.55 per cent to Rs 7,436.75. At the NSE, it fell by 1.29 per cent to finish at Rs 7,458. The company's market valuation fell by Rs 2,845 crore to Rs 2,15,245.98 crore. Aditya Birla group firm UltraTech Cement on Friday reported a 36.1 per cent decline in its consolidated net profit to Rs 1,670.10 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023, mainly due to an increase in input cost. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,613.75 crore in the January-March period a year ago, UltraTech Cement said in a regulatory filing. However, its revenue from operations rose 17.72 per cent to Rs 18,562.38 crore during the quarter under review against Rs 15,767.28 crore in the year-ago period. UltraTech's total exp

Cement stocks riding high on hopes of higher demand, capex push

Price wars led by increasing capacities and aggressive competition may mar prospects

Cement firms set for 3rd year of growth, volume seen jumping 7-9% in FY24

The heavy infrastructure push in the budget will help cement demand log in the third consecutive year of growth next fiscal, taking the volume to 425 million tonne or 7-9 per cent more than the current fiscal, forecasts a report. The Union budget has allocated Rs 10 lakh crore, which is a full 33 per cent more funds than it had allocated for the current fiscal, for building key infrastructure next fiscal. However, operating margin, which has been under pressure, remains clouded with prices of key inputs--coal and pet coke remaining elevated. This will have a bearing on the credit risk profiles of players as well, Crisil said in a report on Wednesday. Cement demand grew 11 per cent on-year in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, led by rapid execution of infrastructure projects and strong traction in the real estate and rural affordable housing segments. The momentum is likely to stay healthy in the remaining months of this fiscal as it is a seasonally strong period for ...

Purbanchal Cement lines up Rs 200 crore for expansion, Bengal in roadmap

Assam-based Purvanchal Cement has earmarked Rs 200 crore for acquisition and expansion over the next few years, including foraying into markets outside the northeastern region like West Bengal, a senior official said. The Maithon Group company has at present a 0.5-million tonne capacity plant near Guwahati. We are evaluating between brownfield expansion and acquisition preferably with mine rights in the northern part of Assam," Purbanchal Cement MD Vedant Agarwal said. "We have earmarked Rs 200 crore over the next two-three years to fund our expansion. Initially, we are aiming at ramping up our installed capacity to 1 million tonnes," he told PTI. Agarwal said the company is also looking at opportunities beyond the northeast. "There are plans to set up a grinding unit in West Bengal to tap the eastern market demand," he said. The West Bengal government has been wooing manufacturing industries for investment, banking on robust coal deposits, officials said. In recent times, howev

Cement companies plan to raise prices by Rs 10-15 per bag in Dec: Report

The price of cement is hardening across the country and since August this year, the rates have gone up by Rs 16/per bag, said Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd

Price hikes may not stall cement companies' profit dip: CareEdge

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

Top listed cement companies' margins, profits lowest in a decade

The industry's combined quarterly earnings in Q2FY23 were the lowest since July-September 2013

UltraTech to ramp up domestic cement capacity by a third by FY26

Cement major on track to reach 131.25 mtpa by Q4

Cement cos regain pricing power as demand improves from infra, construction

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

Sale of cement units to Adani group a relief for Jaiprakash lenders

Lenders said they are still awaiting the resolution of a debt worth Rs 21,658 crore with Jaypee Infratech -- the real estate arm of the group

Nepal exports over 3,000 sacks of cement to India for first time

For the first time, Nepal has started exporting cement to India

Market may be pricing in negatives for cement sector as demand stays flat

One key question is, has the market already discounted the negatives and is there too much pessimism about the sector?

Billionaires bet on Indian cement sector for big ticket investments

Premji Invest, Damani pick up minority stakes in smaller cement companies

Adani-Holcim deal may trigger consolidation in cement industry: Experts

Expansion plans by most larger players despite glut in markets, fuel price-driven cost pressure and resistance from market to absorb higher cost may force weaker players out