April 04, 2008

Cement Production and Despatches in March 2008:

Our cement production and despatch figures for the month of March 2008 are as follows:

R Nand Kumar
Corporate Communications &
Corporate Social Responsibility-Head

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January 31, 2008

PRESS RELEASE

ACC Limited

1) Consolidated Results for January to December 2007

Sale of Cement reached an all-time high of 19.97 million tonnes during the year 2007, representing an increase of 6.1%, as compared to the previous financial year.

Total group turnover for the year was Rs. 7067.43 crore, up 20.8% over the group turnover in the previous year.

Profit before Exceptional Items and Tax for the year 2007 was Rs.1715.58 crore, as compared to Rs. 1472.55 crore in the previous year. Profit after Tax for the year was Rs. 1427.34 crore as against Rs. 1239.60 crore in the previous year.

The improvement in profitability was as a result of higher sales volume and improvements in operational efficiencies.

2) Ongoing Modernisation/Expansion projects

The grinding augmentation projects at Tikaria of 0.31 million tonnes went into commercial production in the first quarter of 2007. The project for expansion of capacity at Lakheri by 0.90 Million Tonnes along with a new 25 MW Captive Power Plant and the augmentation of grinding capacity at Kymore by 0.50 million tonnes went into commercial production during the second quarter.

The project for expansion of Bargarh Plant to 2.24 million tonnes together with a 30 MW Captive Power Plant is progressing well and scheduled to be completed by the end of 2008. Similarly, the projects for augmentation at Madukkarai by 0.22 million tonnes is also expected to materialize by this year end.

Work on the expansion of New Wadi Plant in Karnataka was taken up along with two split grinding plants in the state which together will augment our capacity in Karnataka by 3 million tonnes per annum. This project will go on stream in the middle of 2009.

3) New Project

The Board has approved establishment of a new clinker line of capacity 7000 TPD, (equivalent to 3 Million Tonnes per annum) at Chanda in Maharashtra. It will be accompanied by the setting up of a Captive Power Plant of 25 MW capacity. The project outlay is estimated at Rs.1450 crore and scheduled to be completed in 2010. The Chanda expansion project will give a significant boost to our market presence in Vidarbha/ Maharashtra and provide us with an opportunity to widen our customer base in the home market of Central India.

4) Social Responsibility

During the year Corporate Social Responsibility received renewed focus. A dedicated CSR organisation is being put in place comprising of experienced professionals, while retaining the spirit of social volunteering from employees of mainstream functions. Several initiatives have been taken to meet the requirements of various stakeholder groups, beginning with fresh Community Needs Assessment studies for those living in the vicinity of our Plants followed by detailed programmes to fulfill critical needs.

An important partnership was forged with Development Alternatives, a reputed NGO, to help launch a sustainable community development programme for communities around our Wadi Plant. Spread over a three year period, this will be among the most comprehensive and well structured social interventions implemented by the company. The progress, impact and efficacy of individual community development schemes will be measured regularly to ensure satisfactory implementation.

The company continues to support the national effort to combat HIV/AIDS. The Anti Retroviral Treatment Centre in Wadi, Karnataka was formally opened. This centre provides voluntary counseling and testing services and caters to the general public living in Wadi and surrounding districts. A formal partnership was entered with the reputed Christian Medical College at Vellore to establish a world-class centre for treatment of HIV/AIDS in Tamil Nadu.

5) Sustainable Development

Waste management: The Company continued with its quest for Alternate Fuel and Raw Materials and vigourously promoted its waste management services. Contracts were successfully finalised with several waste generators for the co-processing of hazardous and non hazardous waste from different industrial processes.

Wind Energy: The Company commissioned its first Wind Energy Farm as part of an effort to adopt environment–friendly technologies and to reduce dependence on energy from conventional fossil fuel based sources. The 9 MW wind farm, comprising six wind turbines of capacity 1.5 MW each, is located at Udayathoor in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.

Sustainable habitats and Construction: ACC has joined hands with Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction to help propagate the concept of sustainable construction in India by encouraging sustainable building designs, research and exemplary building projects. In another unique partnership, the Company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Development Alternatives to set up a centre of excellence that will help address imminent and future challenges of housing and rural infrastructure by providing innovation support, capacity building and outreach services to the construction industry. This collaboration will make significant contribution in promoting the use of sustainable materials and demonstrating sustainable habitat technologies in housing and rural infrastructure.

6) Knowledge Development: Notable steps were taken in respect of the critical area of knowledge building. The Sumant Moolgaokar Technical Institute in Kymore, which celebrated its 50th anniversary during the year, was reopened with a fresh curriculum to help groom Industrial Training Institute (ITI) qualified students. The Company stepped forward to work with Government and industry associations to partner with ITI’s located near our plants. Already plans for partnerships with 3 ITI’s have received approval from respective state governments.

7) Outlook

The outlook for the cement sector is promising. Several manufacturers are implementing significant capacity expansion plans. These additions will help the industry meet the increased demand for cement in future. We expect the demand for cement to grow especially in infrastructure and housing sectors, keeping pace with the growth of the Nation.

8) Dividend

The Board of Directors has decided to recommend a final dividend of Rs.10 per share aggregating to Rs. 219.51 Crore (including tax on dividend). Thus the total dividend including interim dividend of Rs.10 per share paid in August, 2007 would be Rs. 20 Per share. The total dividend amount for the current fiscal would be Rs. 438.76 Crore (including tax on dividend).

Sumit Banerjee
(Managing Director)

Mumbai – January 31,2008

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