Ramco Cements Ltd. is investing ₹850-crore in an expansion programme to increase the clinkering capacity of the Jayanthipuram plant in Andhra Pradesh by 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), said a top executive.
“Currently, we have cement grinding capacity of 16.5 MTPA, which we plan to take to 20 MTPA by March 2020,” said A.V. Dharmakrishnan, CEO.
As per the plan, Kolaghat (West Bengal), Visakhapatnam and Odisha grinding units would be expanded by nearly 1 MTPA each respectively. The Jayanthipuram unit would be expanded by 1.50 MTPA with 27 MW of Waste Heat Recovery System. “Earlier, we had set aside a capex of ₹1,095 crore and this has been increased to ₹1,930 crore due to the inclusion of Jayanthipuram expansion. All the investment costs would be met through internal accruals and we might go for borrowings, if need be,” he said.
Net declines 32%
Meanwhile, the company reported a decline of 32% in its standalone net profit of ₹114.47 crore for the second quarter ended September 2018, as against ₹168.52 crore a year earlier. The fall in profit is due to cost and pricing pressure and loss of significant cement sales volume due to heavy rains in Kerala.
The company recorded an 11% increase in its total income at ₹1,189.45 crore against ₹1,073.66 crore.
“Petcoke prices went up by 40% and fuel costs by 35% compared to the year-earlier period, but there was no corresponding increase in cement prices. This had a bad impact on our net profit. The prices are yet to improve and we hope to see a pick-up in demand and revenue in the coming months,” he said.
