The government's focus on infrastructure development, impetus for ‘Housing for
All', and robust revival of the real estate sector continue to boost the requirement for
superior quality cement.
Dear Shareholders,
The fiscal year 2022-23 proved to be yet another challenging year for businesses. The
market realities of muted demand and energy cost inflation intensified during the year and
our results in the earlier part of the year, especially Q2 were severely impacted.
However, in the latter part of the year, a demand pickup was noticed but the cement prices
could not accommodate the additional costs – mostly incurred due to high fuel costs.
Despite a challenging market, we ended the fiscal year with total sales volume of ~58
lakh tonnes, 5% greater than the previous year, thanks largely to better demand witnessed
post October 2022 in the B2B segment.
To meet our evolving requirements, we continued to drive our digital transformation to
boost process optimisation, improve efficiency, increase the availability of equipment and
enable advanced analytics. We migrated from SAP ECC to SAP S/4HANA Rise and moved to the
cloud. I am extremely pleased to inform you that we are the first cement company in India
to have successfully completed this transition.
To align with our vision of building a safer and sustainable future, we have proudly
introduced Birla.A1 OrientGreen – The Responsible Cement. An eco-friendly product, it
has received the ‘GreenPro' certification from the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII)- Green Products and Services Council. It is, therefore, preferred by green buildings
and green companies as it helps to save natural resources and has a 15% lower carbon
footprint. Our premium cement Birla.A1 StrongCrete continues to earn customers' preference
and has achieved a growth of 17% during the year in the face of muted overall growth.
Keeping our focus on a responsible today for a sustainable tomorrow, we remain
committed to diligently adhere to sustainability principles and adopt innovative methods
to significantly reduce our environmental impact.
Going forward, we anticipate the demand for cement to grow strongly in the near future.
The government's focus on infrastructure development, impetus for ‘Housing for All',
and robust revival of the real estate sector continue to boost the requirement for
superior quality cement. Our customer-centric approach allows us to align our business
with changing aspirations of the cement users and influencers. It drives us to constantly
innovate new-age solutions that help create better infrastructure for tomorrow. With a
strong emphasis on quality, efficiency and service excellence, we remain determined to
strengthen the foundation of a resilient and responsible business.
Thank you for your trust in Orient Cement and its leadership team. We are profoundly
grateful to all our stakeholders and look forward to your continued support in the times
ahead.
Regards,
CK. Birla
Chairman