Birla Corporation on Wednesday said it is setting up a Rs 400-crore grinding unit project in Uttar Pradesh. The unit is expected to commence production by the second quarter of 2025.

“The board of RCCPL Pvt Limited, the company’s subsidiary, on November 6 approved a plan to set up a 1.4 mt greenfield grinding unit at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. This will substantially enhance the company’s servicing capabilities to its core markets of Purvanchal (eastern Uttar Pradesh),” the company said in a statement.

Birla Corp said the unit will be eligible for tax incentives of the UP government along with savings in logistics and fly ash costs, which will add to the profitability.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 58 crore for the second quarter of 2023-24 against a loss of Rs 56 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,313 crore against Rs 2,042 crore in Q2FY23, a growth of 13.3 per cent. There has also been a decline in power and fuel costs per tonne by 24.4 per cent in the September quarter.

According to Harsh Lodha, chairman of Birla Corporation: “The company has recorded a steady progress in the last three quarters, recovering from the power and fuel cost shock of 2022 that was triggered by the Ukraine crisis. The results were achieved despite cement prices remaining flat as many of our core markets affected by heavy rains and other seasonal factors,” said.

Capacity utilisation increased to 83 per cent from 74 per cent a year ago and 87 per cent for the six months till the end of September against 81 per cent last year, primarily due to scaling up of production at Mukutban, a unit of subsidiary RCCPL.