EL7.AI
StocksMedium•19 October 2026•
4 min read

UltraTech Cement profit rises 21.3%, misses estimates

Key Facts

1Consolidated profit after tax rose 21.3% to 1,501 crore rupees, compared with 1,238 crore rupees a year earlier.
2Revenue from operations grew 18.8% to 232.95 billion rupees, exceeding expectations of 223.78 billion rupees.
3Profit attributable to the parent fell short of the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 1,604 crore rupees.
4Raw material costs rose 24% year on year.
5Domestic grey cement sales volumes increased 13.8% to 35.94 million tonnes, compared with 31.58 million tonnes a year earlier.

UltraTech Cement reported a 21.3% rise in consolidated profit after tax, as sales growth was accompanied by rising cost pressures. Profit reached 1,501 crore rupees, compared with 1,238 crore rupees in the corresponding period a year earlier, the company said in its earnings statement. The results cover the second quarter of fiscal 2027, ended September 30, 2026, under the company's fiscal-year designation. However, profit attributable to the parent fell short of the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 1,604 crore rupees, according to the Financial Express. Revenue from operations, meanwhile, exceeded market estimates, according to Reuters, as cement sales volumes rose and capacity utilisation improved from a year earlier.

Revenue from operations grew about 18.8% year on year to 232.95 billion rupees, according to Reuters. That exceeded market expectations of 223.78 billion rupees for the quarter. Earnings before interest, depreciation and tax rose 17.3% to 3,832 crore rupees, according to Business Standard. The comparable figure was 3,268 crore rupees in the corresponding period a year earlier. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation per tonne also rose to 974 rupees, an annual increase of 60 rupees, according to Investing's coverage of the earnings presentation.

In the domestic business, grey cement sales volumes increased 13.8% to 35.94 million tonnes, according to Business Standard. The company had sold 31.58 million tonnes of grey cement domestically in the corresponding period a year earlier. Capacity utilisation rose to 71% from 66% a year earlier, according to the company's statement, alongside the increase in sales volumes. In a disclosure cited by the Financial Express, the company attributed volume growth to "disciplined execution, wider market reach, cost optimisation and a greater focus on premium products". Capacity utilisation had reached 81% in the first quarter of the same fiscal year, according to that quarter's earnings statement.

On a sequential basis, consolidated profit after tax was below the 2,604 crore rupees recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. First-quarter profit had risen from 2,221 crore rupees in the corresponding period, according to the company's statement on those results. In the second quarter, raw material costs jumped 24% year on year, according to Reuters, alongside growth in revenue and volumes. Investing's coverage of the earnings call said the West Asia crisis and geopolitical uncertainty continued to affect fuel costs. The coverage pointed to the possibility of further increases in these costs and the difficulty of predicting their trajectory while the disruptions persisted.

Alongside its operating results, UltraTech commissioned 3.6 million tonnes per year of new integrated capacity at Petnikota in Andhra Pradesh, according to its capacity expansion disclosure. The company added another 1.0 million tonnes per year by debottlenecking existing plants, as part of the expansions announced during the quarter. Its global production capacity reached 210.1 million tonnes per year following the expansion, according to the same disclosure. In an expansion beyond cement, the group launched a wires and cables business under the "UltraVolt" brand and the UltraTech umbrella. The new business is backed by an investment of 1,800 crore rupees, aimed at expanding the group's presence in the construction value chain, according to the brand launch disclosure.

After the quarter ended, Chief Financial Officer Atul Daga said on the earnings call that "prices rose sharply during October and remain at elevated levels", referring to cement. Green power accounted for about 48% of the company's current electricity needs, according to a disclosure issued in October 2026 before the results. Under its organic growth capital expenditure programme, UltraTech aims to exceed production capacity of 240 million tonnes per year by March 2028. The company said in its earnings statement that this level represented its capacity expansion target under the programme. It also aims to raise the share of green power in its electricity mix to 85% by 2030, according to its energy disclosure.