Chennai: Madras Cements plans to add 40 lakh tonnes to its existing production capacity of 60 lakh tonnes. The company which reported a nearly four times jump in net profit in 2006-07, expects to sustain and improve its output during the current year supported by a growth in demand.

The company attributed its performance to a tight rein on costs.

The company is doubling its wind power generation capacity to 120 MW, which would substantially contribute to the control on energy costs.

Madras Cements, which has a total production capacity of 60 lakh tonnes, will add 20 lakh tonnes by September, when it will commission a 4,000-tonne-a-day kiln at its Jayanthipuram factory.

The company is also setting up a 20-lakh-tonne a year cement project in Ariyalur, which would be commissioned in June 2008. This project, coming up at a cost of Rs967 crore, includes 56.7-MW of wind electric generators to substantially meet the power requirements.

It also announced plans to set up grinding units in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, where fly ash is available and markets are in the vicinity. This would help to bring down the transportation costs for the company.

The capacity expansion comes at a time when the buoyancy in demand for cement is expected to sustain.

The company''s total production during 2006-07 was 56.68 lakh tonnes, a capacity utilisation of 95 per cent against 79 per cent (47.11 lakh tonnes) in the previous year. Sales touched 56.67 lakh tonnes (47.28 lakh tonnes) representing a 20 per cent growth against an industry average of 10 per cent.

The growth in domestic demand has contributed to a reduction in exports, which stood at 76,107 tonnes of cement against 2.28 lakh tonnes of cement and 2.88 lakh tonnes of clinker previously.