Dear Shareholders,
“A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor.
Organisations become resilient only when they successfully steer the
troughs and crests over horizons of time”.
“It is said that the strongest Oak in the forest is not the one
that is protected from the vagaries of nature, rather it's the one that stands in the open
where it is compelled to struggle for existence and growth”. Similarly,
pandemics, global inflation, fuel crisis, geopolitical disturbances etc., have been some
of the rough patches we too have been witnessing. However, HeidelbergCement having
traversed 149 years through the crests and troughs, has emerged successful every time
making it RESILIENT enough to sail through the future.
Just like a mother Giraffe gives a hard kick to its newborn to make it
learn to get on its feet, COVID-19 knocked us hard as we commenced our financial year FY21
followed by yet another severe blow from the second wave in FY22. However, “RESILIENT
organisations don't just wait for things to happen, they make them happen”. COVID
was a tough learning which challenged us with unprecedented uncertainties. The resilience
we had built over the years, came handy and we were able to deliver the highest ever
revenue of ~23.5 Billion INR.
The year gone by has been a year with varied consumer sentiments. While
statistically FY22 delivered a record GDP growth of 8.7%(highest in 22 years), it is
pertinent to note that the same happened due to a low base of FY21 because of country-wide
lock downs. The aggressive vaccination drive undertaken in our country came to our rescue
as the second wave triggered. Resilient, as we Indians are, COVID gradually stopped
bothering us and the consumer sentiments began to turn positive. However, this brought in
its share of inflation which now stands at unprecedented levels. As if all this was not
enough, triggering of Russia-Ukraine war in the fourth quarter threw yet another set of
challenges for the globe. The headwinds pushed fuel prices upto unprecedented levels
disrupting the cross-border trade. Besides high cost, fuel availability was becoming a
hurdle. Since fuel constitutes a major part of cement manufacturing and distribution cost,
we grappled to organise its availability and keep our kilns running. It has been a tight
rope walk since then making us toggle with increased agility so that we achieve an optimum
commercial balance of our fuel mix. Steadfast, your company sold a volume of
4.78 million tonnes which was the 2 highest surpassing its pre-covid level of 4.71
million tonnes achieved in FY20.
Delivering value for money to our customers, our cement quality
continued to be applauded, supplemented by accented customer service levels. The
recognition of our quality voiced by Architects and Engineers witnessed new pinnacles.
Digitalisation of field tests being carried out by service team is now available in
real-time to our discerning customers and their architects to take informed decisions on
mix design. Delighted, our customers reposed their faith in our quality and therefore
we were able to clock a higher share of our premium cements, which touched 21%.The
growth trajectory of our premium products remains resiliently stubborn.
Sustainability is our second nature and therefore environment
conservation continues to form the core of our business. Our efforts to reduce our
environmental footprint, made us increase the share of Green power which now stands at
23.1% and will continue to grow. Our investments in solar power projects now deliver
more than 16 MW to power our journey to Net Zero. Our commitment to reduce dependence on
fossil fuels has made us explore use of Alternate Fuels, which we now target to reach 30%
in the next few years. Our commitment to promote bio-diversity, has made reasonable
progress. Our friends of Earth website created a new milestone of one lakh trees
planted and geo tagged across the country making us feel increasingly confident that we
can make the difference and make the world a wonderful place to live for generations to
come.
What gets monitored, gets measured and what gets measured gets achieved
we truly believe and practice it too. The journey we commenced in 2015 to achieve a
2 degree lower ambient temperature within our manufacturing units compared to what's
prevailing a kilometer away, has come true with our Jhansi plant becoming a proud
achiever. Our other plants too are closing in fast and will soon cherish the same
pride in the very near future. This achievement is an outcome of relentless dedication to
increase the green cover in and around our manufacturing units. Achieving 4.4X water
positive is yet another feather in our cap on which we continuously are working to improve
it further.
Having earned the distinction of producing 100% green products, our CO
road map propels us to further innovate and adopt technologies that would result into year
after year reduction of CO per tonne of cement. Although our CO emissions stood at 513
Kg/t of cement compared to industry average of ~578 Kg/t of cement, it does not make us
complacent, instead it serves as a motivation to do better and increase our lead.
Digitalisation has become integral to civilisation and therefore
business cannot remain an exception. At HeidelbergCement, we have and continue to
implement digitalisation programs in our manufacturing processes, sales and marketing,
finance, procurement, human relations department, compliance tools etc., with a view to
augment efficiency and reduce human errors. Jobs that could be performed through Robotic
Process Automation are projects in development and implementation pipeline.
In our country, a large section of our population builds their
individual dream home by investing personal time and deploying their hard earned money. To
make their home building event memorable, at same time devoid of costly construction
mistakes, we have our Mobile Technical Labs (MTL) assisting them on no charge
basis. Yet another first in the cement Industry, our Whats App Chat-board guides cement
consumers by providing list of authorised dealers in close vicinity and realistic ruling
cement price for our brands besides various other services. Just WhatsApp Hi to 72369
55555 and find answers to your dilemmas pertaining to construction.
It's proven time and again that Prosperity of a business has a
reasonable share of Society's contribution too. Extending our CSR initiatives, we
equipped a number of Government schools in close vicinity of our plants with SMART
Classrooms. Walking the extra mile, we launched Animal Husbandry program and Skill
Development Trainings for the rural folk that empower them to earn a respectable living
and augment family income making them resilient to be able to face the challenges of life.
The smiles and glow on the faces of the beneficiaries is just invaluable.
As always, Health and Safety remains our foremost priority driven by
our compelling phrase “Someone is waiting for you at home”. Every year,
our Parivar of Safety Stars keeps growing who champion the cause and set exemplary
behavioral standards that compels other colleagues to imbibe and practice. Our commitment
to Zero Harm stays steadfast. I cannot miss out mentioning about the
dexterity with which all employees commit themselves to compliance be it competition laws,
emission norms, mining regulations, business ethics, etc. When it comes to compliance, for
us there are no shades of grey.
Over the years, we set sail to Build a Better Future. By Unlocking
Value we Fortified the organisation's Future and embarked upon making a Purposeful
Change, heading towards Building Resilience to be able to endure and sustain
the organisation's progress sailing towards harbours of prosperity.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Directors
and Top Management of HeidelbergCement Group for their encouragement. I place on record my
appreciation for the members of our Parivar (employees) whose commitment and contributions
levitate your Company, making it resilient enough to tide over the toughest of challenges
if they were to arise in the future. I also thank our channel partners, business
associates and every investor for bestowing their trust in us and our business principles.