Chennai, Nov 9 (IANS): Cement major The Ramco Cements Ltd will set up a second line at its grinding unit in Odisha at an outlay of Rs 130 crore.

According to the company, the proposed line will have a capacity of 0.90 million tonne per annum (mtpa), and post commissioning the total capacity at the Haridaspur unit will be 1.80 mtpa.

The company said production of cement at its Kolimigundla plant in Andhra Pradesh had commenced in September.

Its cement capacity has gone up to to 21 mtpa with clinker capacity of 14 mtpa.

The company said the expansion of dry motor plant - two units in Tamil Nadu - are ready for commissioning and the two units in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha will be commissioned during FY24.

The company had spent a capex of Rs 986 crore during the first half of the current fiscal and plans to spend another Rs 731 crore during the second half of this fiscal and Rs 892 crore in FY24.

The 6 MW of waste heat recovery system (WHRS) in Kolimigundla, Andhra Pradesh, will be commissioned this month and balance 6 MW of WHRS will be commissioned in March 2023. The thermal power plant of 18 MW and railway siding will be commissioned in 2023-24, the company said.

Meanwhile, the company closed Q2 with a revenue of Rs 1,793.20 crore (PY Q2 Rs 1,501.03 crore) and a net profit of Rs 11.47 crore (Rs 517.08 crore).

During the period under review, the company had sold 33.11 lakh tonne of cement and the capacity utilisation stood at 66 per cent.

High input and interest costs, reduced prices were the reasons for lower realisation, the company said.

The continuing consolidation in cement industry coupled with speedy addition of fresh capacities could lead to increased appetite for market share among the players, and may put pressure on margins in the foreseeable future, especially due to uncertainty in fuel prices, the company said.