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Informist, Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

By Ashutosh Pati and Suryash Kumar

MUMBAI – Ambuja Cements Ltd. plans to spend around INR 100 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, with around INR 80 billion for growth and INR 20 billion in efficiencies, its management told analysts in a post-earnings conference call Friday. The company's foremost focus remains on the maximum utilisation of its existing assets, the management said.

Ambuja Cements Friday reported a sharp fall in its bottom line for the December quarter, mainly due to higher expenses, particularly power and fuel costs. The cement major posted a consolidated net profit of INR 2.04 billion for the December quarter, down around 91% on year, and far below the Street's expectations of INR 7.98 billion.

The company's management termed the rise in costs as a "one-time thing" and expects most of these expenses to reduce in the coming quarters. It expects power and fuel costs to decline by INR 100 to INR 125 per tonne in the March quarter and fuel costs to reduce by INR 150 per tonne. The company also expects an INR 100 per tonne reduction in its raw material costs in the March quarter, which should reflect in an overall reduction of INR 300-INR 350 per tonne and bring down expenses to INR 3,800 per tonne, the management said.

The company registered revenue growth of around 20% on year in the December quarter, led by record quarterly sales volumes. Ambuja Cements reported a 17% on-year growth in its sales volumes to 18.9 million tonnes. However, the management said excluding volumes from acquisitions, such as ACC Ltd. and Orient Cement Ltd., the company's sales volumes rose around 6% on year.

These acquisitions are expected to drive long-term value creation over the next 24 to 36 months, the management said. "Regulatory approvals are progressing quite well. We are seeing an early operational success across the acquired assets. The capacity utilisation for the (December) quarter improved meaningfully for the acquired assets at 58%," the management said.

Ambuja Cements' clinker unit in Rajasthan, which it had received as a part of the takeover of Penna Cement Industries Ltd., is expected to be commissioned in the third week of February. Ambuja Cements plans to expand capacity to 155 million tonnes per annum by FY28. The company's management said there has been a strong revival in demand in the December quarter and this is expected to continue in the coming quarters. It sees demand growing by 8% in the March quarter.

Ambuja Cements commissioned a 225 MW solar power plant in the December quarter, taking the total renewable energy capacity to 898 MW. It expects renewable energy capacity to reach 1,122 MW by FY27.

The company expects a double-digit growth in its sales volumes in FY27. "... we are balancing between volume and value. And therefore, we'll see more accelerated improvement on my realisation, on my blended cement, on my premium cement," a top official of the company said. The company declared its December quarter results during market hours Friday. Shares of the company nosedived after the results were announced, ending at INR 510.15 on the National Stock Exchange, down nearly 5% from the previous session.  End

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Saji George Titus

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