UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company, expects its capacity to surpass 200 million tonne per annum (mtpa) after getting the approval for its latest acquisitions and completion of ongoing projects by FY27.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, UltraTech Cement, said with the completion of ongoing expansion projects by FY27, and receipt of statutory approvals for the recently announced acquisitions of Kesoram Cement (10.75 mtpa) and the India Cements (14.45 mtpa), the total cement capacity will surpass the 200 mtpa target announced at last year’s AGM. This aligns with the Group’s long-standing vision of being the leading global player in the cement sector, he said at the company’s annual general meeting held on Wednesday.
In FY24 alone, the company increased its cement production capacity by 13.3 mtpa through expansion projects. In April, it crossed 150 mtpa production capacity.
Stating that capacity expansion is not a number game, Birla said the company will leverage expanded manufacturing footprint to reduce operational costs, particularly logistics costs and improve customer service by reducing lead time by tapping into strong nation-wide distribution network.
More importantly, he said this scale will further enable UltraTech to service India’s growing demand for cement across the country.
Enhanced presence
With a mix of integrated cement plants, grinding units and bulk terminals, UltraTech has presence in 60 locations in India, along with over 300 ready mix concrete plants.
Amid a globally uncertain macroeconomic environment, he said India’s economy has shown resilience, with real GDP growth of 8.2 per cent in FY24, making it the fastest-growing major economy and the fifth-largest globally.
Structural reforms and domestic household demand are key drivers of India’s growth. Inflation has eased, supported by monetary policy actions and supply-side interventions. India is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in FY25 driven by its ongoing efforts to strengthen the domestic economy through increased capital expenditures, creating a world-class digital infrastructure and payment platform, and reforming policies to improve the ease of doing business, he said.
UltraTech has significantly increased its renewable energy capacity by 77 per cent and Waste Heat Recovery System capacity by 32 per cent in FY24 compared to FY23.
The company has 890 MW of green energy capacity which accounted for 22 per cent of overall power requirement in FY24. With planned increases in renewable energy and WHRS capacity, UltraTech is expected to soon touch a significant milestone of 1,000 MW of green power and increase the overall share of green energy in its total energy mix to 85 per cent by 2030, said Birla.