Mumbai, April 19. ACC Limited, one of the largest cement producers in India and a subsidiary of the Holcim group has recorded a three percent rise in net sales in the first quarter of 2022 Holcim group is the world’s largest cement manufacture and India’s second largest.
During the Q1, net sales of the company rose to ₹ 4,322 crore compared to ₹ 4,213 crore recorded in the corresponding period last year. However profit after tax at ₹ 396 Crore dipped by 30% compared to Q1 previous year
A company press release said a slew of measures taken by the company has helped it minimise expenses, and tide over the negative impact of Covid pandemic on the market. “Our efficiency project ‘Parvat’ helped deliver 1% lower per ton Freight & Forwarding cost despite fuel inflation Strict cost control measures enabled reduction in fixed cost vs previous year”
Holcim group has been in the news recently following speculations that it will put up its Indian subsidiaries ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cement for sale. This is reported to be part of its global strategy to concentrate on core markets and a greener future.
“ACC’s focussing on capacity growth, delivering cost reduction and sharp actions on sustainability has continued. Our execution capabilities to drive efficiencies and commission new projects have enabled us to make ACC significantly stronger,” said the company press release.
The January to March 2022 quarter was impacted due to the global rise in fuel costs driven by the overall geopolitical situation. Our efficiency and cost reduction actions under project ‘Parvat’ remained very strong and helped us partially offset the impact. The new investments in waste heat recovery systems will help us mitigate the energy cost inflation while also strengthening our sustainability actions.
“Our Green Concrete “ECOPact” is now 17% of the total Readymix sales. We have further expanded our ECO friendly product portfolio by launching a new climate control concrete insulation system “AIRIUM’ during the quarter,” said the company.
The India story remains intact. Our ongoing initiatives on growth, sustainability and productivity improvements will continue as we progress on the consequent execution of our strategy.”- said Sridhar Balakrishnan, Managing Director and CEO.
Outlook
“We are confident that the demand situation will further improve in the coming months supported by an improving domestic economic environment and various initiatives from the Government in terms of increased spending on infrastructure development,” said the press release.
Expansion Plans
According to the company its expansion projects are on target. Ametha project is progressing ahead of schedule to add 5 MTPA capacity. Commissioning of integrated unit is expected in Q4 2022
Tikaria grinding unit with 1.6 MTPA capacity was commissioned in Feb 2022. The project was executed in 9 months. Waste heat recovery projects at Jamul and Kymore plants are on track; Board has further approved next phase of projects at Chanda and Wadi plants. Total capacity will reach 75 MW. The company added that its Green Concrete “ECOPact” is continuing to deliver strong performance
Meanwhile, EBITDA at ₹ 635 Crore declined 26% vs previous year due to significant fuel cost increase despite project ‘Parvat’ delivering strong internal efficiencies, added the press release.
