India Cements promoters increase share pledge as company finds itself in a tight spot

Mumbai/Bengaluru: Promoters of India Cements Ltd have continued to borrow against their shares with the latest debt raised as recently as last month, at a time the countrys tenth largest cement maker fights working capital shortages..

In an analyst call on 1 February, the India Cements management said that several company assets remained idle in the December quarter thanks to working capital shortages, curtailing production..

. To tide over the crisis, India Cements is also looking to sell some non-core assets including land parcels to bring down debt and pump working capital into the company..

India Cements has an installed capacity of 15.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) versus 143.8 mtpa of market leader UltraTech, and over 70 mtpa of the Ambuja-ACC combine under the Adani Group..

The subdued operating performance of (India Cements) stems from the significantly higher power and fuel requirement compared to the industry average and also continued loss in market share in the southern region over the years," Care Ratings noted last month as it downgraded the companys long-term credit rating to BB+ with a negative outlook from BBB- earlier..

You might be interested in