Senior Manager Cement

For a Building Materials Major
Senior Manager - Internal Audits - Cement Division
8 - 10 yrs
Satna,  Varanasi
Salary: Rs.20,00,000 - 30,00,000 P.A.
Openings: 2

Job Description:
This role has been created to supervise and guide the internal and external audit teams, with the purpose to provide them continuous inputs to ensure that the audits are complete, both from assurance and efficiency improvement perspective. The primary focus would be sales, supply chain, manufacturing, financial and commercial functions / processes of Cement Division.

Team : 3-5

Key Result Areas:
Timely conduct of audits as per the annual audit plan.
Adherence to audit coverage versus scope.
Adherence to Internal Audit Manual
Efficiency improvements recommended to the management.
Timely preparation of Audit Reports, executive summaries, audit committee presentations etc.,
Adherence to Performance Management system timelines and guidelines.
Employee training and development
Full utilization of SAP for internal audits to ensure maximum coverage.

Key Responsibilities/ Activities:
The resource will be part of Corporate Management Assurance team and would be responsible in supervising the audit team in Cement Division and carrying out audits in the domain of sales, manufacturing, supply chain, inventory management, finance and commercial etc.
To participate in the annual internal audit planning process, so as to ensure that audits are planned based on rolling plan, results of previous years audits, risks etc.
To supervise, support and work with external audit teams.
To schedule audits/ prepare quarterly audit and resource plan in consultation with Head Management Assurance.
Conduct complex and/or special audits
Make presentations to senior management on audit findings.
Build relationship with stakeholders across organization.
Work with the internal / external audit team in preparing/ finalizing high quality audit reports, in which each audit observation is supported with facts/ data, root cause and recommendations.
Prepare quarterly executive summaries for senior management and presentation for the Audit Committee.
Participation in selection/ evaluation of external auditors, together with Head Management Assurance.
Participate in interview/ selection process on new hire for the department.
Monitor the performance of the team on a continuous basis to identify key performers.
Mentor and coach subordinates to develop the teams capabilities and build a robust succession pipeline.

Desired Candidate Profile:
A B.Com & CA (First Attempt), with experience of 8-10 years of post-CA qualification experience in internal auditing in large manufacturing company or with a good audit firm, with exposure to Cement, Building Material industries.
Must be a Certified Internal Auditor.
Must be a Certified Information System Auditor.
Must have been auditing in SAP environment.
Must have excellent Communication, inter-personal and presentation skills.


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Ambuja Cements

Ambuja Cements Posts Poor Results

Ambuja Cements posted Q3 results that were below market estimates with EBITDA at Rs.3.6 bn vs. estimates of Rs.4.4 bn and OPM at 13.7 % vs. industry expectations of 17.5 %.

Operating expense per tonne increased 9.9 % QoQ and EBITDA/Tonne was Rs.656 vs. again below market and industry expectations.

Sales volumes were 5.46 Million Tonnes, up 8.5% YoY.

Cement capacity utilization was at 74 % as against 68 % in Q3CY17.

Realization was up 2.1 % YoY.

EBITDA/Tonne was Rs.656 as against Rs.691/ Rs977 in Q3CY17/ Q2CY18.

Operating expense per tonne was up 3.4 % YoY, mainly because of higher energy (higher coal prices) costs, freight costs (increase in diesel prices) and other expenses (higher packaging costs and maintenance expenses).
Most of these factors were on account of the falling Rupee, higher international crude oil prices and higher domestic diesel prices.
Overall ACC seems to have performed better than Ambuja Cements. Both companies are part of the global building materials giant, LafargeHolcim.

ACC Post Results

LafargeHolcim Unit ACC Cements' Results

Cement major ACC Cement, which is a unit of the world's largest cement maker, LafargeHolcim, reported 15.20 % increase in consolidated net profit at Rs. 209.14 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, led by volume growth spurred by higher demand. The cement company, which follows January-December financial year, had posted a net profit of Rs 181.53 crore last year.

Major highlights are:
1. Total income from operations was up 10.35 % to Rs. 3,465.92 crore as against Rs. 3,140.76 crore in the September quarter of 2017.
2. Total expenses were at Rs 3,160.38 crore current as against Rs 2,877.00 crore previous.
3. Cement sales were up 9.89 % to 6.55 million tonne (MT) current as against 5.96 MT previous.
4. Cement sales volume grew by 10 per cent during the quarter spurred by higher demand.
5. Revenue from Ready Mix Concrete was Rs.303.33 crore.
6. Ready Mix concrete sales volumes grew 12 % driven by an increase in the sale of value added products and the addition of 8 new plants across India.

Outlook:
ACC said it will continue to maintain its focus on operating efficiencies to improve performance. Demand drivers including growth in affordable and rural housing segments as well as infrastructure projects is expected to remain healthy. ACC were optimistic that cement demand growth would strengthen in the coming year.

Cement Industry Awaits GST Cuts

Indian Cement Industry Expects 18% GST against Current 28

The Cement Manufacturers Association of India has long been lobbying for the reduction in the GST for cement. They had argued that a cut in the tax rate would help as it would boost infrastructure spending. This sounds good to a government looking to create more jobs and boost the economy. On a secondary level it could be a big shot in the arm for stakeholders like individual homebuyers and builders.

GST Council To Meet September 28th

The CMA is taking heart at Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley's earlier statement that the GST Council may look to reduce the tax rates on cement, air-conditioners and large screen televisions as revenues improve. The GST Council is slated to meet for two days, beginning September 28 and may take up a proposal to cut the tax rate on cement to 18 per cent from 28 per cent as the move may create more jobs and boost the economy ahead of the general elections.

On the other hand, informed sources imply that a dip in the August revenue collection could weigh on the council's decision on a cut. The council may not immediately cut the tax rate on the cement sector as it would have a revenue impact of around Rs. 1,000 crore per annum according to some estimates. Furthermore, the GST Council in July had reduced the tax rate on around 30 items, including paints and white goods such as refrigerators and washing machines, to 18 per cent from 28 per cent, which had a revenue implication of about Rs. 10,000 crore per annum. Whether, the Government is willing to forego another Rs.1,000 crore per annum so close behind is anyone's guess.

In a related note,  GST collections for August declined 1.7 % to Rs. 93,960 crore from Rs. 96,483 crore in the previous month. However, insider analysts have argued that a cut in the GST rate for the construction sector will boost demand and increase revenue collection. At present, while cement is taxed under the 28 per cent slab, many other items used in construction sector are in the 18-per-cent slab.

Related trivia : Construction in India is a labour-intensive sector that contributes 8 % to the Indian gross domestic product.

On unrelated news, cement shares declined.

UltraTech Cement (down 2.67%),
ACC (down 1.34%),
Ambuja Cements (down 1.25%),
Grasim Industries (down 0.39%).
Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.