Ramco Cements has announced a capital expenditure (capex) plan of Rs 12 billion for the next fiscal year, maintaining its guidance for FY25. The company has raised Rs 4.43 billion this fiscal through the sale of non-core assets.

During the third quarter of the current fiscal, Ramco Cements incurred a capex of Rs 2.56 billion, bringing the total spending for the first nine months to Rs 8 billion. The company has set a target of monetizing Rs 10 billion worth of non-core assets and has realized Rs 4.43 billion so far, with an additional Rs 100 million received as advances for assets nearing finalization.

The funds generated from these asset sales have been utilised to reduce debt, bringing the company’s net debt to Rs 46.16 billion as of December 31, 2024. In Q3FY25 alone, debt reduction amounted to Rs 4.87 billion.

Ramco Cements remains on course to achieve a cement production capacity of 30 MTPA by March 2026. This expansion includes the commissioning of a second production line in Kolimigundla, capacity enhancements through de-bottlenecking, and additional grinding facilities. A railway siding at Kolimigundla is scheduled for commissioning in March 2025.

The company is also investing in sustainable energy initiatives, with a 10 MW Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) at RR Nagar expected to be operational by June 2025 and a 15 MW WHRS unit at Kolimigundla set to be commissioned alongside Kiln Line-2 by March 2026. A new construction chemicals unit in Odisha is expected to be ready before March 2025. Land acquisition for a greenfield project in Karnataka has progressed, with 53 per cent of mining land and 13 per cent of factory land secured.

For Q3FY25, Ramco Cements reported a profit after tax of Rs 3.25 billion, significantly higher than Rs 930 million in the previous year, primarily due to an exceptional income of Rs 3.29 billion from asset sales. Net revenue declined by 6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19.88 billion due to a 14 per cent drop in cement prices.

Total sales volume, including construction chemicals, increased by 9 per cent to 4.37 million tonne. Cement capacity utilization saw a slight improvement to 75 per cent in Q3FY25 from 74 per cent in Q3FY24. However, EBITDA declined by 28 per cent to Rs 2.91 billion due to weaker cement prices, despite cost reductions from lower fuel prices and improved manufacturing efficiency.

News source: Hindu Businessline

Chairman of JSW Group Sajjan Jindal announced on Friday the investment of Rs 1 trillion in the next seven to eight years for a 25 million tonne steel plant in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district
Jindal said their plant in Gadchiroli will not only be the biggest such factory in the world but will also the most beautiful and environment-friendly steel-making unit.

The billionaire businessman said his company will invest Rs 1 trillion in the next seven to eight years in the steel plant whose first phase will be completed in four years.

UltraTech Cement has increased its grinding capacity at the Sonar Bangla facility in West Bengal by 0.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). This expansion aims to meet the growing demand for composite cement in the eastern region while improving the company’s blended cement ratio.

With this addition, UltraTech’s total domestic grey cement manufacturing capacity has risen to 166.31 MTPA. The company has also expanded its global footprint, adding 5.4 MTPA overseas, bringing its total cement production capacity to 171.71 MTPA.

This move strengthens UltraTech’s market presence and supports its long-term strategy to boost production and efficiency for both domestic and global markets.