UltraTech Cement to invest Rs 32,400 cr towards capex in next 3 years; commissions 2 new plants
Aditya Birla Group’s cement company UltraTech Cement Limited on Tuesday said it will be commissioning two new greenfield projects in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, with its total capacity reaching 151.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). In an exchange filing, the company said it will invest Rs 32,400 crore towards its capital expenditure over the next three years.
UltraTech had earlier stated plans to take its cement manufacturing capacity to close to the 200 million tonne per annum (MTPA) mark.
“It took 36 years for the cement business of the Aditya Birla Group, to get to a capacity of 100 mtpa. And UltraTech has subsequently added the next 50 mtpa in less than 5 years with an investment of around Rs 32,000 crore,” the company said.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said: “Reaching this milestone is symbolic of India’s ascent on the global stage and demonstrates the dynamism and scale of Indian corporations. UltraTech, as a national champion, is an enabler of India’s development”.
Besides the two plants that have added 5.4 mtpa capacity, the cement firm, in the past 12 months, has expanded its volume by 18.7 mtpa. Moreover, the ongoing expansion of 35.5 mtpa is actively being implemented across 16 locations, the company declared in the filing. It is also in the process of closing the proposed acquisition of Kesoram Cement.
K C Jhanwar, managing director of UltraTech Cement, said, “This achievement is a significant milestone in UltraTech’s transformative growth journey. India’s strong growth trajectory provides the cement sector significant headroom for long term growth. As India’s leading cement and ready-mix-concrete company, UltraTech is well placed to support the country in its exciting growth journey ahead”.
The Aditya Birla Group company is the market leader in the sector, the new investments are expected to push it further. With revenues of $7.9 billion, UltraTech is the third largest Cement producer in the world, outside of China, with a total Grey Cement capacity of 146.2 mtpa.
Ambuja Cement, along with ACC capacity, is in the second spot in India, with a capacity of 77.4 MTPA. Adani promoted Ambuja Cement plans to double its capacity to 140 MTPA by 2028.
Earlier this year, UltraTech Cement reported its highest-ever quarterly profit after tax of Rs 1,777 crore during the third quarter of the current fiscal, which was an increase of 68% over the same period last year.
UltraTech reported a 7.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in its consolidated net sales to Rs 16,487 crore in the October-December quarter from Rs 15,299 crore in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) for the company stood at Rs 3,395 crore during the quarter, a 38% increase over last year with an operating profit margin of 19%.
The company attributed a positive growth in its financials to the cement demand, improved efficiencies, along with low fuel and raw material costs.
