Ambuja Cements plans to invest ₹3,500 crore for expansion of its cement grinding capacity. Currently, the company has an annual cement production capacity of 31 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) with six integrated cement manufacturing plants and eight cement grinding units across the country.
Neeraj Akhoury, Managing Director & CEO, Ambuja Cements said the board has approved in principle an investment of ₹3,500 crore for a cement grinding expansion plan of potential 7 mtpa across the existing grinding units at Sankrail and Farakka and a greenfield location at Barh in Bihar.
This is supported by a 3.2 mtpa brownfield clinker expansion at the company's existing integrated plant in Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh.
Ambuja Cements reported that its consolidated net profit in the December quarter more than halved to ₹431 crore against ₹968 crore logged in the same period last year on back of higher cost and lower realisation. Revenue from operations was up at ₹7,625 crore (₹7,453 crore).
The board had declared a dividend of ₹6.30 per share.
On a standalone basis, net profit was down at ₹252 crore (₹497 crore). Revenue was up at ₹3,735 crore (₹3,515 crore). Sales volume was flat at 7 mtpa.
Economic activity continues to see improvement due to upbeat business confidence. The recently announced Union Budget focuses on growth led by substantial increase in the capex for the infrastructure sector. Cement demand growth is expected to remain positive backed by increased demand for housing combined with the government's thrust on infrastructure development, said the company.