ACC profit falls 91% in second quarter as fuel costs rise and sales weaken
Key Facts
Indian cement maker ACC’s profit fell about 91% in the second quarter, weighed by higher fuel costs, weaker cement sales and employee separation charges, according to a Reuters report published on October 27, 2026. The results cover the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026. The company had said its board would consider the unaudited results at a meeting scheduled for October 27. The decline put ACC on a different trajectory from some of its sector peers in the same quarter. Results available for Indian cement makers showed mixed performance, with profit growth at UltraTech and a decline at Shree Cement, while ACC recorded a sharp drop.
Factors cited by Reuters include weaker cement sales and higher fuel costs, along with an expense related to employee separation. Together, they combined pressure on operating revenue with a non-recurring cost that affected net profitability during the period. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026-27, ACC had reported consolidated revenue of 5,808 crore rupees, compared with 6,328 crore rupees a year earlier, while net profit was 147 crore rupees versus 376 crore rupees. Cement sales were also 10.0 million tonnes in the first quarter, compared with 10.7 million tonnes in the year-earlier period and 11.9 million tonnes in the previous quarter. These figures provide context for the company’s earlier performance without replacing details of its second-quarter results.
In its first-quarter results, the company had pointed to cost pressures in the cement sector, including higher prices for imported fuels, such as petcoke and thermal coal, and shipping and logistics costs linked to geopolitical developments in West Asia. ACC said its fuel inventory cycle spans 60 to 90 days and that the impact of peak fuel cost inflation was expected to coincide with the second quarter, which it described as the seasonally weakest. The company added that this overlap could affect sector profitability in the near term. In its statement, it said it was working to ease the pressure by improving its fuel mix, increasing renewable energy use, enhancing logistics efficiency, focusing on higher-margin markets and maintaining cost discipline. Chief Executive Venoo Bahri had said the company expected to reduce costs by about 250 rupees per metric tonne in fiscal 2026-27, according to the terms in its forward-looking statements.
Results among competitors diverged in the second quarter: UltraTech Cement’s profit rose 21.3% to 1,501 crore rupees, according to EL7 coverage. By contrast, EL7 coverage showed Shree Cement’s profit falling 26% despite revenue growth. The results underscore the differing profit trajectories among sector companies during the period, alongside the cost pressures ACC had described in earlier statements. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025-26, UltraTech had reported quarterly sales volume of 11.9 million tonnes, up 8% year over year, and revenue of 7,146 crore rupees, an increase of 17%. ACC also said at the time that fuel and diesel costs, packaging-bag supply constraints and rupee weakness had affected the quarter, and expected their impact to continue through the first half of fiscal 2026-27.
In the broader industrial sector, the Financial Express quoted HSBC economist Pranjul Bhandari as saying industrial output growth and new orders were little changed in October’s flash purchasing managers’ index reading. He said export orders recorded their fastest increase since June 2025 and input cost inflation eased. India’s September 2026 industrial production data are due on Wednesday, October 28, according to the Indian government’s schedule. August data showed industrial production rising 8.0% year over year, according to a published economic calendar. The release is scheduled after ACC’s results for the quarter ended in September.