Ambuja Cements Q3FY26 Results: Profit Declines Despite Revenue Growth
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Ambuja Cements reported a consolidated net profit of ₹688.62 crore for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (Q3FY26), a notable decrease from ₹1,270 crore in the same quarter of the previous year. However, the company’s revenue increased to ₹10,431.83 crore, exceeding the Bloomberg analyst estimate of ₹10,146.74 crore.
Financial Performance Highlights
- Net Profit: ₹688.62 crore (down from ₹1,270 crore in Q3FY25)
- Revenue: ₹10,431.83 crore (up from ₹8,698.94 crore in Q3FY25)
- expenses: ₹9,941.46 crore (up 18.72% year-over-year)
- 9MFY26 Revenue: ₹29,740 crore (up 27% Y-o-Y)
- 9MFY26 Profit: ₹2,804.60 crore (down 14.43% Y-o-Y)
The decline in profit was partially attributed to a ₹45 crore outgo compared to a ₹1,270 crore income in the year-ago quarter. Expenses rose 18.72% year-over-year to ₹9,941.46 crore,driven by increases in power and fuel costs (up 26.49%) and freight & forwarding expenses (up 15.6%). Depreciation and amortisation expenses also increased significantly, rising 58% year-over-year.
Cost Management and Future Outlook
Ambuja Cements is focusing on cost optimization, particularly in areas like power costs, green power adoption, fuel efficiency, waste heat recovery, alternative fuels, raw materials, and logistics. The company aims to achieve a targeted cost of ₹3,650 per metric tonne by March 2028.
According to Ajay Bahety, the company is actively working to address these specific cost issues.
Ambuja’s realisations improved by ₹5 per bag year-over-year. the share of premium cement in trade sales remained at 35% compared to Q2FY26, with premium cement volume growth increasing by 31% year-over-year. The company attributes its success to premiumisation efforts and improved market share, leading to better realisations than its peers.
Cement demand was driven by infrastructure activity, sustained housing demand, and a recovery in rural construction following a favorable monsoon season.
Merger and Expansion Plans
Ambuja Cements has received board approval for schemes of amalgamation with ACC and Orient Cement, aiming to create a pan-India cement powerhouse.
The company’s cement capacity currently stands at 109 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and is expected to reach 115 mtpa by March 2026. Annual capital expenditure (capex) is projected to be around ₹10,000 crore, with ₹8,000 crore allocated to growth capex and ₹2,000 crore to efficiency capex. Approximately ₹6,000 crore has been spent on capex in the frist nine months of FY26.
Peer Performance
Compared to its peers:
- UltraTech Cement reported volumes of 38.87 million tonnes (up 15% Y-o-Y).
- Nuvoco Vistas Corp reported a 7% rise in sales volumes to 5 million tonnes.
- Dalmia Bharat reported volumes of 7.3 million tonnes (up 9.5%).
- JK Cement’s grey cement sales volume stood at 5.32 million tonnes (up 22% Y-o-Y).
Sequentially, ambuja’s revenue increased by 12%, while its reported profit decreased by 88.5%.
Stock Performance
ambuja Cements’ share price fell by 4.8% to close at ₹510.20 on the BSE following the release of the results.