ompany is building a waste heat recovery-based power plant of 10- mw capacity in Ras (Rajasthan)...

Shree Cement (SCL), the Bangur-owned Rs 2,200 crore Kolkata-based firm, which runs the largest single-location
integrated cement factory in northern India, will invest Rs 550 crore in the current fiscal.

The company is building a waste heat recovery-based power plant of 10- mw capacity in Ras (Rajasthan) with an outlay of
Rs 250 crore. In addition, it is expanding its clinker capacity by one-million tonne per annum (MTPA) in Rajasthan, along
with associated split grinding capacity for a total outlay of Rs 300 crore. Shree Cement managing director HM Bangur told,
“The power plant is expected to begin operations in August 2009 while the clinker capacity is to be commissioned in the
next two years.” “Once the waste heat recovery-based power plant starts functioning, Shree Cement will save Rs 15 lakh
per day,” Mr Bangur added. The company also has expansion plans in Libya, Israel, Sudan and has sent a few key people
to survey these markets.

Shree Cement has a capacity to produce eight MTPA of cement annually at its plant in Rajasthan. The company gets the
bulk of its business volumes by catering to Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Western UP and Uttaranchal. Apart from these,
it's spending around Rs 15 crore on marketing to tap villages in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.

The company aims to cover more than 700 villages with a population of above 3,000 this fiscal. Another 2,000 villages
would be mapped within the next fiscal. Prabhudas Lilladher Research analyst Kamlesh Bagmar said in a note that
existing sector dynamics won't allow cement companies to raise prices.

However, the recent softening of pet coke prices would aid the company in containing pressure witnessed during the
quarter.

Another analyst said that Shree Cement's market share is the highest in the Delhi market, which is the prime market in the
NCR region. In Haryana, the

company's share is higher than Grasim Industries and Ambuja. One of Shree Cement's major credentials is its cost
management practices, which has enabled it to operate at margins (44%), which are comparable to its bigger peers such
as ACC, Gujarat Ambuja and Ultratech.

The company's June shipments rose 27.67% to 609,000 tonne from 477,000 tonne a year earlier. Total shipments
between April to June 2008 rose 26.42% to 1.77 million tonne, from 1.40 million tonne a year ago.

India's cement industry is expanding capacity to meet increasing demand. The industry plans to invest around Rs 50,000
crore in order to increase production from 165 million tonne to about 275 million tonne over next two to three years.