Birla Corp announces expansions in FY25-26

Birla Corp, the flagship company of MP Birla Group, is planning to increase cement production to 25Mta by the end of financial year 2025-26.  The existing capacity of Birla Corp headed by Harsh V Lodha stands at about 20Mta.  

The company is planning to ramp up its production capacity from a greenfield cement plant at Mukutban near Nagpur, setting up a setting up a second clinker unit at Maihar in Madhya Pradesh and constructing new grinding units in north India. “With the commissioning of Mukutban we have virtually ring-fenced our core market of Central India – which we can service seamlessly from our six plants, namely Maihar, Satna, Kundangunj, Raebareli, Chanderia and, now, Mukutban,” Mr Lodha told shareholders during the 103rd company AGM.

The current capacity utilisation of Mukutban, which has an installed production capacity of 3.9Mta, stands at 40-45 per cent.  With the extended project completion time resulting in the cost of the plant going up by INR3000m (US$36m), primarily on account of interests during construct, the Mukutban project came at a cost of INR27440m. 

“We are working on exit target this year of 200,000t and next year it will ramped up to 250,000t,” said Sandip Ghose, Birla Corp managing director and CEO.

Mr Ghose added that the company plans to raise its EBITA to INR850/t by this fiscal end from INR664/t at the end of the first quarter which would come from higher capacity utilisation and optimisation of cost and sale. 

On the raw material and energy security front, the company officials said that limestone from Mukutban mines and the limestone from other mines would also come at a low price. The company has been allotted captive coal mines of Bikram and Marki Barka. While mining at Bikram is expected to start later in this financial year, Marki Barka mine is expected to be operational in the financial year 2025-25. 

"Once operational, these mines will not only lead to savings in the fuel cost but also provide a high degree of fuel security to the company.  With the commissioning of these coal mines, we would have one of the highest sources of captive fuel for kiln [more than 55 per cent] in the industry — insulating us from vagaries of the market," Mr Lodha said.