KOLKATA: Shree Cement plans to set up a Rs 2,500 crore 6 million tonne cement manufacturing plant in Katni, Madhya Pradesh. The project also involves installing a 50 mw captive power plant adjacent to the proposed unit. The move is in sync with the company’s strategy to have a total cement manufacturing capacity of about 20 million tonne per annum by 2012 by setting up new plants in other states as well, HM Bangur, managing director of Shree Cement, said in a media statement issued on Monday. “Since the state has huge limestone reserves, it made business sense to set up a greenfield unit in Madhya Pradesh. The government has already identified land for the proposed project,” Mr Bangur added. Incidentally, the project will be part funded by term loans and internal accruals. The company presently produces some 7.5 million tonne per annum of cement across its units in Rajasthan. To give shape to its plans, the company has entered into an MoU with the Madhya Pradesh government for the greenfield cement unit at Katni at the recent Global Investors’ Summit-2007 held in Indore. Plans are also afoot to further expand the company’s cement capacity to 9 million tonne per annum by the first quarter of the financial year 2008-09. Increased cement volumes are expected to help the company capitalise on the present market conditions. Shree Cement hopes to clock a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore in the current fiscal and some Rs 3,500 crore in 2008-09. In the second quarter ended September 30, 2007, the company reported a 36.55% rise in net profit at Rs 106.23 crore (Rs 77.79 crore) and a 47.56% growth in its July-September quarter net sales revenue at Rs 466.38 crore (Rs 316.04 crore).
Source: Economic Times
[31st October 2007]