Birla Corp Ltd, flagship company of M.P. Birla group, will invest around Rs 950 crore to set up new units in four States.

The Kolkata-based cement maker said it will set up three grinding cum blending units in Madhya Pradesh, one grinding unit in Bihar, one blending unit in Uttar Pradesh and another in Jharkhand, which will have a combined capacity of 4.5 million tonnes.

The company added that it started mechanical mining at its Chanderia mine in Rajasthan in the first week of August after an interim order by the Supreme Court on July 29.

Because of the mine’s proximity to Chittorgarh Fort, a heritage structure, the Jodhpur High Court had banned mining at the site in August 2011.

Q2 profit down

This would bring down the cost of limestone and lead to higher capacity utilisation at the Chanderia grinding unit, the company said.

Meanwhile, Birla Corp reported a lower net profit and higher income from operations for the September quarter.

Net profit stood at Rs 41.6 crore during the quarter against Rs 80.2 crore a year ago.

Dull demand

Lower cement realisation and higher logistics costs eroded the net profit, the company said.

Total income from operations stood higher at Rs 710.7 crore against Rs 627.4 crore.

Harsh V. Lodha, Chairman, attributed the drop in profit to subdued demand and suspension of limestone mining in Chanderia.

Procurement of limestone from the market added to the costs.

“Rupee depreciation against the US dollar has offset the declining coal import costs.

“An increase in freight cost owing to frequent increase in diesel prices and railway freight affected margins,” a company note said.

>jayanta.mallick@thehindu.co.in

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