k. m. birla is at a crossroads – to combine or not to combine is the question. neha saraiya states the raison d’être behind the best possible option...
Imagine a young CEO, who happily acquires a 51% stake in L&T’s cement division (named as Ultratech) for a whopping Rs.22 billion and then soon after sends a letter to his board of management warning them about the bumpy road ahead... That is Kumara Mangalam Birla, a man who had apprehensions about the problems that the massive year-2004 acquisition would cause to the company in the long run. Even as many woke up with the hangover from that deal, there was another major announcement from Grasim Industries on June 11, 2009 – a further purchase of 11.5% stake in L&T Cement! Surprisingly, all went well and in fact much better than expected... That was five years back.
It’s 2009, and the 42 year-old Birla is faced with another question – should he combine his brainchild Grasim Cement with the foster child Ultratech? The move to merge the entities will definitely make the duo, the largest player in India’s cement industry, with an annual combined production capacity of 42 million tonnes, overtaking others in its ilk, which includes biggies like ACC, Gujrat Ambuja, et al. But what if structural issues actually creep into this process of consolidation? Before answering that, taking a look at the company’s performance during FY2008-09 becomes important. The company which has a host of businesses under its umbrella (including Viscose Staple Fabric – VSF, cement, chemicals, textiles, iron ore, et al) recorded a net profit of Rs.21.87 billion, with top line collections of Rs.18.04 billion.
So, while the bottom line fell by 5% as compared to the previous year, what makes Birla happy is the fact that revenues of his main cement business grew by a double-digit 13% y-o-y, touching 20 million tonnes in capacity. Of course, the infrastructure development thrust given by the Indian government helped, but the question stands – are the other eggs in his basket worrying Birla? Admits Adesh Gupta, Group Exec. President and CFO, Grasim Industries in an exclusive conversation with B&E, “Despite higher energy cost and the economic slowdown, cement business maintained its operating profit in FY’09. However, our VSF business was adversely impacted by the global slowdown and spiralling input costs.” Rightly so, the VSF and sponge iron businesses have proved laggards for the company, as the average VSF realisations fell by as much as 17% y-o-y, while sponge iron’s fell by 30% y-o-y. The major reason for this dip has been reduced consumer spending & increase in raw material costs.
Imagine a young CEO, who happily acquires a 51% stake in L&T’s cement division (named as Ultratech) for a whopping Rs.22 billion and then soon after sends a letter to his board of management warning them about the bumpy road ahead... That is Kumara Mangalam Birla, a man who had apprehensions about the problems that the massive year-2004 acquisition would cause to the company in the long run. Even as many woke up with the hangover from that deal, there was another major announcement from Grasim Industries on June 11, 2009 – a further purchase of 11.5% stake in L&T Cement! Surprisingly, all went well and in fact much better than expected... That was five years back.
It’s 2009, and the 42 year-old Birla is faced with another question – should he combine his brainchild Grasim Cement with the foster child Ultratech? The move to merge the entities will definitely make the duo, the largest player in India’s cement industry, with an annual combined production capacity of 42 million tonnes, overtaking others in its ilk, which includes biggies like ACC, Gujrat Ambuja, et al. But what if structural issues actually creep into this process of consolidation? Before answering that, taking a look at the company’s performance during FY2008-09 becomes important. The company which has a host of businesses under its umbrella (including Viscose Staple Fabric – VSF, cement, chemicals, textiles, iron ore, et al) recorded a net profit of Rs.21.87 billion, with top line collections of Rs.18.04 billion.
So, while the bottom line fell by 5% as compared to the previous year, what makes Birla happy is the fact that revenues of his main cement business grew by a double-digit 13% y-o-y, touching 20 million tonnes in capacity. Of course, the infrastructure development thrust given by the Indian government helped, but the question stands – are the other eggs in his basket worrying Birla? Admits Adesh Gupta, Group Exec. President and CFO, Grasim Industries in an exclusive conversation with B&E, “Despite higher energy cost and the economic slowdown, cement business maintained its operating profit in FY’09. However, our VSF business was adversely impacted by the global slowdown and spiralling input costs.” Rightly so, the VSF and sponge iron businesses have proved laggards for the company, as the average VSF realisations fell by as much as 17% y-o-y, while sponge iron’s fell by 30% y-o-y. The major reason for this dip has been reduced consumer spending & increase in raw material costs.
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