The diversified company, which hiked its half-yearly installed capacity to 5.16 million tonnes by commissioning its greenfield facility at Tadipatri as against ACC's 5.04 million, produced 3.54 million tonnes of cement during April-September this year. ACC, on the contrary, retained the number one slot with a production of 4.31 million tonnes during the period.

ACC's cement output during April-September last year stood at 4.33 million tonnes, higher than the first half of the current fiscal, while L&T produced 2.98 million tonnes during the same period.

Even despatches made by ACC in the first half was higher at 4.28 million tonnes, against 3.49 million tonnes.

L&T's lower output, despite its higher capacity, was primarilyowing to the lower capacity utilisation at the Tadipatri unit which operated at 54.73 per cent. The plant which has a half-yearly capacity of 8.3 lakh tonnes churned out only 4.56 lakh tonnes during the first half.

According to the half-yearly production and despatch figures collated by the Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA), Gujarat Ambuja Cements hiked its output in the current fiscal to 2.91 million tonnes, against 2.07 million tonnes during the corresponding period last year.

The Aditya Birla group, which is in the process of restructuring its cement operations under flagship company Grasim Industries, retained the third slot despite a drop in output to 3.19 million tonnes of cement during the first half, against 3.57 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

India Cements, the largest cement producer in the south, churned out 2.27 million tonnes, while despatches stood at 2.24 million tonnes in the first half. The production and despatches include the corresponding figures of RaasiCement, the Secunderabad-based cement company which has been taken over by India Cements. India Cements had produced 1.54 million tonnes of cement in the first half of last year, while despatches stood at 1.52 million tonnes.

Madras Cements, another leading cement maker from south India, produced 1.24 million tonnes during the first half of 1998-99, with a capacity utilisation of 90 per cent, while despatch made amounted to 1.26 million tonnes.

The BK Birla-controlled Century Textiles, which is a leading cement maker, touched a production of 1.8 million tonnes and despatched 1.82 million tonnes in the first half of the current financial year. The company's production was 1.82 million tonnes in the first half of last year, when even the despatches were higher at 1.84 million tonnes. Kesoram Industries, another BK Birla group company, hit a production of 0.94 million tonnes this year, against 0.82 million tonnes last year.

The first half saw Birla Corp, the MP Birla-controlled cement company, witness adrop in production to 1.47 million tonnes, against 1.71 million tonnes. Even despatches at 1.45 was lower as compared to 1.70 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.