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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 23, 2026

By Ashutosh Pati

MUMBAI – ACC Ltd. is expected to report an on-year decline in its bottom line for the March quarter due to higher input costs, particularly a rise in prices of coal and imported pet coke, according to analysts. However, its revenue is likely to rise due to an uptick in volumes amid improved demand.

The company is expected to post a net profit of INR 4.43 billion for the March quarter, down over 26% on year, according to the average of estimates from 11 brokerages. Its revenue is seen rising 13.5% on year to INR 68.73 billion for the quarter, according to the estimates. Sequentially, ACC's bottom line and top line are seen rising over 2% and 6%, respectively. ACC was merged into Ambuja Cements Ltd. in the December quarter. This is expected to boost its revenue growth in Jan-Mar due to the combined capacity and strong sales volumes.

Estimates for the company's net profit range from a high of INR 7.21 billion from Nirmal Bang Equities Pvt. Ltd. to a low of INR 3.52 billion from Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. The highest estimate for the company's revenue is INR 72.80 billion from Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd. while the lowest estimate is INR 65.75 billion from Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.

High input costs remain a key concern for the company, brokerages said. Costs linked to crude oil have surged since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in February, with prices of imported coal up 18% and pet coke prices up 28% over the past month, according to Emkay. Overall costs, including fixed and variable expenses, are expected to rise over 3% on year, the brokerage said. Nomura expects the company's fixed costs to rise 12% on year and freight costs to rise 14%, with operating cost per tonne seen rising 18% on year.

However, volume growth is expected to support revenue for the latest quarter. ACC's volumes are estimated to rise 3-12% on year in the March quarter, aiding the top line growth of the company, according to most brokerages. Emkay sees the company's volumes rising 7% on year to 12.7 million tonnes in the March quarter and HDFC Securities Ltd. sees it at 13.4 million tonnes, up over 12% on year.

Similarly, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. expects ACC's volumes to rise 10% on year to 13.1 million tonnes for the March quarter. "We expect volumes to grow ~6% YoY to 11.7 million tonnes (3% QoQ) on better demand and seasonally strong quarter," brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said in a report.

ACC is expected to report an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of INR 8.31 billion for the March quarter, steady on year but over 19% sequentially, according to the average of the 11 estimates. Nirmal Bang Equities has the highest estimate of INR 10.34 billion for the company's EBITDA, while Nomura has the lowest estimate of 7.37 billion.

Sequential improvement in ACC's EBITDA is mainly driven by better realisations. The company's cement realisations are likely to rise 1-3% on quarter, according to brokerages. "Realisation is expected to improve ~1% sequentially mainly led by increase in prices during the quarter," brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher said. "Pricing saw an uptick in January supported by improving demand; however, February-March witnessed slight volatility with partial rollbacks due to aggressive volume push and competitive intensity," it added.

HDFC Securities sees ACC reporting a net profit of INR 15.30 billion for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) on revenues of INR 258.40 billion. Similarly, brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher sees the company's net profit at INR 22.80 billion and revenue at INR 253.10 billion for FY26. The company had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 24.02 billion in FY25 on revenues of INR 207.89 billion.

The company will detail its March quarter earnings on Apr. 30. Of the 12 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, seven have a 'buy' or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 2,245. This is over 57% higher than the current market price. Two brokerages have a 'hold' recommendation on the stock, while three have a 'sell' recommendation.

At 1226 IST, shares of ACC were 1.4% lower at INR 1,426.50 on the National Stock Exchange. The company had reported a net profit of INR 5.41 billion for the December quarter on revenues of INR 63.67 billion. Since reporting its December quarter earnings, shares of the company have fallen 15%.

Following are the March quarter earnings estimates for ACC from 11 brokerages in descending order by the estimate of net profit in INR billion:

End

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

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

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