JSW Cement, which is planning to raise capacity to 20 million tonne per annum by 2020, has said it is eyeing acquisition of stressed cement assets as part of its strategy to expand capacity and capitalise on growing infrastructure spends and realisation of pent up cement demand.
Boosted by a 63% volume growth in Q2FY19 as against an industry average of 22% in the markets it operates, JSW which has already garnered a presence in South and West- where it also has manufacturing plants–said that it is now building up its presence in the East, driven by growing demand for its slag-based products. It currently markets two variants of green cement products, JSW Cement Portland Slag Cement (PSC) and Concreel HD.
JSW Cement expects development of 500 cities under the new Urban Development Mission and the initiative to build 100 smart cities to benefit cement & construction sectors. “The company views improving economic growth scenario, continued thrust on boosting India’s infrastructure sector and materialization of pent-up demand as primary drivers for cement consumption,” Nilesh Narwekar, CEO, JSW Cement said.
“As part of our strategy to capitalize on these opportunities, JSW Cement is planning to increase its overall cement production capacity to 20 MTPA by 2020,” he said. The company will then launch an IPO with a view to unlock the real value of the business,” he added. A part of this capacity expansion will be met through inorganic growth, the company statement said. The ongoing bad loan resolution process has opened up opportunities to acquire cement assets in India. JSW Cement views these strong assets of debt-laden companies to have a strong potential to grow while enabling swift scaling & optimization of these capacities, the statement said, adding that it will proactively explore these opportunities to scale up its capacities.
Source: Economic Times