We delivered the highest-ever EBITDA and substantially reduced our net debt. Our strategy has been unwavering, aimed at driving volume growth in the North and adopting a Value-over-Volume approach in the East, alongside premiumisation, geo-mix optimisation, brand enhancement, and cost efficiency.
I am delighted to address all of you in this Annual Report for FY 2023-24. The past year has once again showcased our inherent strength and ability to navigate through challenging and disruptive times. As India’s fifth-largest cement group and a leading cement group in East, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited remains steadfast through its initiatives designed to create a robust, adaptive, and thriving organisation.
The FY 2023-24 presented both prospects and challenges for the cement industry as it continued navigating a dynamic landscape characterised by capacity expansion and growth on one hand and pricing pressures and profitability on the other. Escalating logistics, supply chain and raw materials costs kept the industry alert. Despite these conditions, cement demand showed a healthy increase fuelled by the government’s sustained emphasis on infrastructure, burgeoning urbanisation & industrialisation, an uptick in rural incomes, and foreign investments. Nonetheless, global economic downturns presented hurdles, resulting in project delays. While increased demand prompted capacity expansions, the surge in supply and intense competition capped price growth, keeping modest utilisation rates. Moving forward, we must remain aware that cost pressures, strained supply chains, environmental concerns, and heightened competition will persist as ongoing challenges.
Our Company’s performance reflects these testing times. Despite being a leading player in East India, the demand volatility continued to affect us, particularly in West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand, where demand remained subdued.
Revenue from Operations
Despite the hurdles, the Company reached a significant milestone by achieving a record-high profitability. We delivered the highest-ever EBITDA and substantially reduced our net debt. Our strategy has been unwavering, aimed at driving volume growth in the North and adopting a Value-over-Volume approach in the East, alongside premiumisation, geo-mix optimisation, brand enhancement, and cost efficiency. These efforts have notably improved our revenue per tonne, even against the backdrop of declining pan-India cement prices.
Our strategic orientation to cost efficiency propelled us to implement our key initiative - The Project BRIDGE 1.0. Focussing on cost savings through efficiency improvements has led to a significant reduction in operating costs for FY 2023-24. We took targeted actions to reduce our power and fuel cost by optimising sourcing and the mix of resources. This effort was supported by lower costs of pet coke and coal. Our long-term raw material supply agreements resulted in substantial cost reductions,
Highest-ever EBITDA
From a financial standpoint, for FY 2023-24, we achieved our highest-ever EBITDA of ₹1,657 crores. This impressive 35% YoY improvement in EBIDTA was primarily driven by enhanced cost efficiency. Our revenue from operations stood strong at ₹10,733 crores, reflecting our ability to navigate through volatile demand environments while delivering a notable performance. The cement volumes reached a 18.8 MMTPA on a full-year basis to fulfil demand driven by strong domestic demand, especially from infrastructure and housing construction sectors. The consolidated Profit After Tax (PAT) for FY 2023-24 stood at ₹147.4 crores.
A standout achievement in our financial performance was the significant reduction of net debt by ₹384 crores YoY, bringing it down to ₹4,030 crores. This achievement highlights our disciplined approach towards financial management and positions us favourably with a net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.4x. Moreover, this debt reduction aligns with our consistent trend of decreasing net debt, underscoring our ongoing commitment to deleveraging.
Let’s shift gears from financial performance to our business operations. A notable achievement during the year was successfully commissioning of 1.2 MMTPA grinding unit at the Haryana Cement Plant. With this expansion, Nuvoco’s total installed capacity is 25 MMTPA with 6 MMTPA in the North alone. This expansion has also boosted our capability to serve the rapidly growing Northern markets more efficiently. Additionally, our railway sliding projects at Sonadih and Odisha Cement Plants are in the advanced stage of completion and will help us to cater to the demand in the East.
Our premium products have maintained a pivotal role within our portfolio and contributed 37% to the Company’s cement trade volumes in FY 2023-24, a modest increase from 36% in FY 2022-23. The year witnessed the launch of two premium cement products: ‘Duraguard F2F,’ our premium composite cement, in West Bengal and Jharkhand, and we expanded the presence of our premium cement variant, ‘Concreto Uno’ in Jharkhand. Our Concreto cement franchise saw an approximate 7% increase in sales volume compared to last year, highlighting our emphasis on a value-over-volume strategy.
One of the key initiatives during FY 2023-24 was to focus on brand strengthening and customer recall. To achieve this, we enhanced our brand visibility by consolidating our diverse product offerings across our businesses of Cement, Ready-Mix Concrete (“RMX”), and Modern Building Materials (“MBM”) under the mother brand Nuvoco. Our new cement packaging design, featuring the Nuvoco logo prominently on the front, underscores a stronger bond between the Company and its brands, instilling confidence in our partners and customers.
Additionally, our successful campaigns, such as ‘Seedhi Baat Hai, Duraguard Khaas Hai’ and ‘Concreto - Naam hi Kaafi hai,’ highlighted the uniqueness and quality of our offerings. The ‘Sabse Khaas Sarpanch’ initiative celebrated and empowered local leaders driving infrastructural growth in rural India, further strengthening our connection with these communities. Our customer-centric efforts, including the NuvoNirmaan application and the Tech Express initiative with 50 technical mobile vans, have further enhanced our customer outreach and engagement. These initiatives provided tailored assistance and on-site support to our customers, enhancing their experience throughout the construction journey.
Our RMX business is a significant operation, positioning us as a leading player in the industry. In FY 2023-24, we commissioned 7 new RMX plants, expanding our total count to 58 pan-India. We also launched new product categories, including InstaMix Superior Column Concrete and Artiste Flooring Solutions, strengthening our market presence. Our premiumisation strategy is evident in our RMX business, with value-added products accounting for 31% of the total sales volume in FY 2023-24. Additionally, the Company operates 16 GreenPRO Ecolabel plants that produce Ecodure– Green Concrete, which reduces carbon emissions by up to 60% compared to the conventional OPC mix, making it a preferred and sustainable choice for architects and developers.
The MBM business remains a key differentiator for the Company. Our groundbreaking Tile & Stone Fixing Solution under the brand Zero M, features a comprehensive product range that includes Tile Adhesive, Tile Grout, and Tile Cleaner, providing customers with a complete tiling solution. The business continues to market and sell a varied range of products - Construction Chemicals, Multipurpose Bonding and Waterproofing Agents, Wall Putty, Tile Adhesive, Ready-Mix Dry Plaster, and Cover Blocks for different construction applications. Furthermore, the tile adhesive and cover block segments saw continued sales improvement throughout the year.
At the core of our operations is our commitment to sustainability. We recognise that as a major player in the cement industry, we have a responsibility to minimise our environmental impact and lead the way in sustainable practices. This commitment drives us to pursue sustainability relentlessly in all our endeavours. Our dedication is embodied in our ‘Protect Our Planet’ agenda, which focusses on five key dimensions: Decarbonisation, Water Management, Circular Economy, Biodiversity, and Waste Reduction and is a guiding principle to align our efforts with critical environmental concerns identified through rigorous materiality assessments.
Our targeted investment in sustainability has delivered substantial value. By focussing on blended cement and optimising the power and fuel mix between traditional fossil fuels and alternative renewable energy sources, we have significantly reduced the carbon intensity of our cement manufacturing. We achieved remarkable milestones, including lowering carbon emissions to 457 kg CO2 per tonne of cementitious materials, one of the industry’s lowest. Additionally, our use of Alternative Fuels and Raw Materials (AFR) increased to 13% in FY 2023-24 from 9% in FY 2022-23, reflecting our focus on promoting circularity and resource efficiency.
Over the year, we invested in state-of-the-art fuel feeding systems, coal grinding optimisation, and advanced control systems, significantly enhancing energy efficiency and maximising the performance of our kilns and Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) systems. Despite market dynamics favouring Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), our cement-to-clinker ratio remained at 1.76 in FY 2023-24, one of the best in the industry and well above both the Indian and global averages. This reflects our commitment to sustainable practices and ability to adapt our strategies accordingly.
In addition to this, our water management initiatives have yielded tangible outcomes, with a 1.8x water positivity index. We also increased the use of recycled and reused water, thus contributing to an approximate 11% reduction in our total freshwater consumption. Moreover, our innovative Aqua Zero Debris Recycler can reduce freshwater consumption by 40% and eliminate debris from our manufacturing plants. Embracing circularity, we are actively diverting waste from landfills to the tune of almost 2,75,000+ tons as fuel in plants under the circular economy initiative in FY 2023-24, thereby reducing environmental impact while promoting sustainable practices. In our pursuit of green logistics, we are transitioning our fleet to alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles (EVs).
These efforts underscore our dedication to environmental stewardship, ensuring we leave a positive legacy for future generations. Our efforts have received recognition at several forums, a prominent one being the Chittor Cement Plant, which was honoured with the ‘Excellent Unit Award’ at the QCFI 3rd National Sustainability Awards for its achievements in energy, AFR, and water management.
At the epicentre of all these initiatives are our employees. By embracing our core values—Integrity, Entrepreneurship, Collaboration, Care, and Operational Excellence (IECCO)—we are committed to maintaining transparency while fostering a performance-driven culture. In FY 2023-24, we launched strategic initiatives to nurture our employees’ growth and well-being. The NuView Survey, a critical initiative, recorded an impressive five-point increase in employee engagement, surpassing the average score for the Indian manufacturing sector. Additionally, we launched the Employee Value Proposition (EVP) - “Enabling You to be Future-Ready”, built on four foundational pillars: Leadership, Learning, Career, and Care.
Our commitment to Learning and Development saw a significant uptick. Building on the success of Nuvoco University (Digital Learning Platform) launched last year, the current learning and development initiatives focus on the FITCHAMP Leadership Competency Framework and succession planning. This will help us build the workforce of the future. Furthermore, each employee dedicated approximately a full day to training and self-development, for a cumulative total of 1,16,000 training hours, showcasing their professional commitment and growth mindset. This led us to win the 14th CII National HR Excellence Award in the “Significant Achievement in HR Excellence” category. These recognitions underscore our unwavering dedication to building a world-class employer brand by fostering a culture of execution excellence and commitment to employee development and care.
Our Project DEN (Digitally Enabled Nuvoco) has made great strides since its launch. We implemented the SAP Ariba portal to ensure fair and competitive contracts for our suppliers, with a focus on transparency and fairness in procurement. This year, we merged two SAP instances – Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited and NU Vista Limited. – into a single system, ensuring consistent data management, uniform reporting, and a seamless user experience. Deploying a reverse bidding engine for freight management at our Nimbol and Chittor Cement Plants enhanced cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency. Additionally, we reduced paper consumption by transitioning to concise prints and utilising digital channels like SMS notifications. These initiatives promote a balance between technology-aided growth and environmental sustainability.
Training hours
Our Project DEN (Digitally Enabled Nuvoco) has made great strides since its launch. We implemented the SAP Ariba portal to ensure fair and competitive contracts for our suppliers, with a focus on transparency and fairness in procurement. This year, we merged two SAP instances – Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Limited and NU Vista Limited.
As we Propel towards a Better Tomorrow, our commitment to improving the lives of the communities in the areas of our operations continues to strengthen through our CSR initiatives. Guided by one of our core values, Care, Nuvoco has always made a responsible and sustainable contribution to society and endeavours to foster socially sustainable programmes under the themes of Skilling & Livelihood, Health, Education, Natural Resource Management and Infrastructure development. Our flagship skill development programme, Nuvo Mason, certified by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), has trained over 500 youth in construction skills and thereby elevated their income levels. Our Digital Smart Classrooms initiative transformed education, benefiting over 12,500 students across various locations. We prioritised sustainable development through water conservation projects and enhanced village safety and connectivity by installing over 100 solar lights and 12 CCTV cameras.
Looking ahead to FY 2024-25, Nuvoco is strategically positioned for growth and efficiency enhancements. We are geared to optimise our footprint with a focus on premiumisation to boost realisations per ton, targeting a robust expansion in North markets and extracting more share from the Central and East markets. One significant initiative will be boosting sales within our home market, i.e., within 200 kilometres of our manufacturing plant, thereby consolidating our value leadership and optimising logistics and distribution costs. Building on the success of Project BRIDGE 1.0, we are embarking on Project BRIDGE 2.0, wherein we aim for incremental cost savings predominantly focussing on cost-efficiency, productivity and process improvements. Under the DEN (Digitally Enabled Nuvoco) initiative, we remain committed to launching a customer portal and initiating AI-enabled projects in specific areas primarily to drive efficiency. Lastly, we continue to build on our brand value and loyal network. Our commitment is further strengthened by our ORE (Operating Philosophy, Rules of the Journey, and Expected Behaviours), IBP (Integrated Business Planning), and xQ (Execution Excellence). We will place a strong emphasis on customer-centricity and our people, striving towards our mission of becoming a leading building materials Company delivering superior performance.
I take this moment to sincerely thank all our esteemed stakeholders for their continued trust and collaboration. Your commitment and dedication fuel our pursuit of excellence, propelling us to new levels of success. As we move ahead, ready to embrace the opportunities, we will remain united in our commitment to Building a Safer, Smarter and Sustainable World.
Warm regards,
Jayakumar Krishnaswamy
Managing Director