Coromandel Sugars has increased its stake in Ponni Sugars (Erode) Ltd to more than nine per cent.

According to an announcement in the NSE, Coromandel Sugars, an associate company of India Cements Ltd, which holds a 6.74 per cent stake in Ponni Sugars, has acquired an additional 2.62 per cent over the last one month.

This takes its total holding to 9.36 per cent (8.04 lakh shares). Senior executives in both companies attributed this to routine investments.

Capacity expansion

Coromandel Sugars operates a sugar mill in Mandya District, Karnataka. It is investing over Rs 150 crore in expanding its sugar mill there. The mill with a capacity to crush 3,500 tonnes of sugarcane daily is being expanded to 5,000 tonnes. A 12-MW cogeneration plant is also being expanded to 30 MW.

Work on the expansion has started and is to be completed in one year, said an official.

Ponni Sugars is a part of the Esvin Group with a diversified presence in paper manufacturing, sugar industry and engineering consultancy. It has a 3,000-tonne sugar mill in Erode and is set to commission a 15-MW cogeneration plant.

> rbalaji@thehindu.co.in

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