Bharathi Cement to double turnover by 2013

MUMBAI: Bharathi Cement, the fully-owned domestic unit of the French cement firm Vicat Group, today said it is eyeing to double the turnover to Rs 2,000 crore by 2013 when its plant at Gulbarga in Karnataka will go on stream and double the capacity by 2016 to 10.5 million tonne.

"Our turnover from the existing two plants at Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh in 2011 is expected to be over Rs 1,000 crore. We are targeting Rs 2,000 crore turnover after the completion of our Rs 1,400-crore plant at Gulbarga in Karnataka," Bharathi Cement Marketing Director M Ravinder Reddy told reporters here.

The upcoming two units at Gulbarga will have a combined capacity of 5.5 mt, and the line of 2.75 mt will be operational by the second half of 2012, he said.

"In 2012, we expect to ramp up the capacity to 7.5 mt and reach 10.5 mt by 2015-16 from the present 5 mt," he added.

Bharathi has lined up Rs 1,400 crore investment for the Gulbarga unit, he said, while the Andhra plants cost it Rs 1,450 crore.

"The investment for the Andhra plants was met through equity, whereas we are getting finance for the Karnataka plant from IFC," Reddy added.

"We will also erect a 30-MW captive power plant for unit one and will double it to 60-MW for the second unit," he said.

Bharathi, which, at present enjoys 3 per cent market share, aims to raise it to 4 per cent next year and to 6 per cent the year after, he said, adding "We will also increase supplies to Mumbai to 1.2 mt after the Karnataka plant is commissioned, from 0.4 mt at present.