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Birla plots a growth story amid slowdown
Kumar Mangalam Birla's business has grown steadily in the downturn because of the scale and capacity he has built in the last five years
With the recent announcement to acquire Jaypee Cement's 4.8 million-tonne cement plant in Gujarat, Aditya Birla Group's soft-spoken promoter and chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, has taken UltraTech Cement within striking distance of its nearest competitor to grab the top slot in the cement sector.
After the deal, UltraTech Cement's domestic capacity will rise to 56 MT, and with more projects underway, the company will reach 70 MT in annual capacity by 2015. Its closest rival Holcim, the Swiss cement maker which controls Ambuja Cements and ACC, will have an annual capacity of 65 MT by then, up from 57 MT now.
Birla's steadfastness in growing the business is reflected in the fact that when he took over the reins 18 years ago, the group's cement capacity was a mere 3.5 MT, way below ACC and Ambuja Cements' 11.5 MT. In the interim, the Birla group companies more than caught up with ACC and Ambuja's capacity. The period also saw Birla growing his group's revenue to over $40 billion from $2 billion.
There has been a lot of action in the group in the last five years after Birla set the goal to more than double revenue to $65 billion by 2014-2015 from $29.2 billion in 2007-08. The economy was on the upswing then, growing at over 9 per cent annually. The group's strategy was to maintain global leadership in what had been its mainstay- viscose staple fibre and carbon black- and gain or retain dominant positions in businesses such as cement, telecom, aluminium and fashion retail in the domestic market. (GATHERING STRENGTH)
The group's cement arm, UltraTech, grew its revenues nearly four-fold to Rs 21,319 crore in FY2013 from Rs 5,626 crore in FY2008. Nearly one-third of its present capacity was added around this time, while the company's net profit grew 165 per cent to Rs 2,677 crore in
Kumar Mangalam Birla's business has grown steadily in the downturn because of the scale and capacity he has built in the last five years
With the recent announcement to acquire Jaypee Cement's 4.8 million-tonne cement plant in Gujarat, Aditya Birla Group's soft-spoken promoter and chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla, has taken UltraTech Cement within striking distance of its nearest competitor to grab the top slot in the cement sector.
After the deal, UltraTech Cement's domestic capacity will rise to 56 MT, and with more projects underway, the company will reach 70 MT in annual capacity by 2015. Its closest rival Holcim, the Swiss cement maker which controls Ambuja Cements and ACC, will have an annual capacity of 65 MT by then, up from 57 MT now.
Birla's steadfastness in growing the business is reflected in the fact that when he took over the reins 18 years ago, the group's cement capacity was a mere 3.5 MT, way below ACC and Ambuja Cements' 11.5 MT. In the interim, the Birla group companies more than caught up with ACC and Ambuja's capacity. The period also saw Birla growing his group's revenue to over $40 billion from $2 billion.
There has been a lot of action in the group in the last five years after Birla set the goal to more than double revenue to $65 billion by 2014-2015 from $29.2 billion in 2007-08. The economy was on the upswing then, growing at over 9 per cent annually. The group's strategy was to maintain global leadership in what had been its mainstay- viscose staple fibre and carbon black- and gain or retain dominant positions in businesses such as cement, telecom, aluminium and fashion retail in the domestic market. (GATHERING STRENGTH)
The group's cement arm, UltraTech, grew its revenues nearly four-fold to Rs 21,319 crore in FY2013 from Rs 5,626 crore in FY2008. Nearly one-third of its present capacity was added around this time, while the company's net profit grew 165 per cent to Rs 2,677 crore in