Ambuja Cements Ltd., now a subsidiary of Adani Cement, has been named the preferred bidder for the Uskalvagu limestone block in Odisha’s Malkangiri district.
The company was declared the preferred bidder after the state government held an e-auction.
The Uskalvagu block covers 547 hectares and has an estimated limestone resource of 141 million tonnes with an average calcium oxide (CaO) content of 43.74 percent.
Ambuja Cements will begin mining operations once it has received the necessary mining licences and permits. Before operations begin, it will sign a Mine Development and Production Agreement (MDPA) with the Odisha government.
Ambuja Cements reported a 46.4 percent increase in standalone net profit for the December quarter, owing to higher sales volume. The volume of sales was 7.7 million tonnes, up from 7.2 million tonnes in the same period last year.
The management stated that the focus will remain on cost reduction and leveraging synergies from the group’s adjacent businesses.
Adani Group shares have fallen nearly 30% since January 24, when US short-seller Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of “brazen stock manipulation” and “accounting fraud.”
Promoters also addressed concerns about pledged shares, stating that the group has not pledged any ACC or Ambuja shares and has only provided a non-disposal undertaking.
A non-disposal undertaking means that the debtor will be unable to sell any of the pledged shares until the entire debt is paid off. The debtor in this case is the Adani group, which owns ACC and Ambuja.
Ambuja Cements and ACC have a combined capacity of 67.5 million tonnes across the country, with 14 integrated cement manufacturing plants and 16 cement grinding units.
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