JK Cement plans to nearly double production capacity in 5 yrs

18 December 2017

JK Cement is planning to add up to 8 million tonne per annum (MTPA) capacity in the next five years, taking the total installed capacity to around 18 MTPA for grey cements, said a top company official.

The company is planning to expand to 3.5 to 4 million tonne in brownfield and greenfield projects separately.

The JK Organisation group firm would also invest around Rs 1,200-1,500 crore in brownfield expansion at its Mangrol facility in Rajasthan in the next 24-30 months.

“We are looking, in the next 4-5 years to add at least 7-8 million tonne to our capacity and go from 10.5 MTPA to 18 -19 MTPA,” JK Grey Cement Business Head Rajnish Kapur said.

He further said: “Now we are looking at a couple of options which we have in grey cement business. We are looking in terms of brownfield expansion at our existing plants to 3.5 to 4 MTPA.”

Besides, the company has a greenfield mining license at Panna, and it is also exploring that, Kapur added.

“This would give us entry into the new market of central India and diversify geographic expansion,” he added.

When asked about the investment in the proposed expansion, he said the company is working on the fine details and the proposal has to be vetted by the board.

In 2016-17 fiscal, JK Cement had a revenue of Rs 4,420.71 crore.

“We will be first going in brownfield, which we would target to keep at around Rs 1,200-1,500 crore and then after a couple of years, we would move for (greenfield) expansion,” Kapur said.

This capex would happen in 2-2.5 years time.

On funding, he said it would be a combination of internal funding and through debts.

As part of its growth strategy, the company may also consider inorganic growth opportunities.

“If some good opportunity is coming up, then we would keep our options open. We will keep looking and scanning…,” he added.

Recently, JK Cements, as part of its CSR activity, hosted the second edition of its social campaign Swachh Ability run, held in Goa, Belgaum, Hubli, Mangaluru and Bengaluru in which 13,000 people participated.

Source: ET