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Informist, Friday, May 22, 2026

MUMBAI – Cement stocks are expected to perform better in the coming week with the March quarter results as the major focus. "We remain cautiously constructive for the long term and will watch Q1FY27 (Apr-Jun) results closely as the real test of margin resilience in this geopolitical environment," said Palak Devadiga, equity research associate at BP Equities.

The long-term demand outlook of cement companies remains intact, combined with a 7–8% volume growth outlook for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), providing strong visibility for consumption, the analyst said. "Most of the cement stocks are giving a sigh of reversal and sustaining above the support," said Sundar Kewat, technical and derivatives analyst at Ashika Institutional Equity. "So we can bottom fish out this counter and the stoploss is to be taken as recent lows." He expects Ambuja Cements and UltraTech Cement to perform well.

JSW Cement was the top gainer among the pack of cement companies when the week ended. The stock gained over 8% Friday. For the whole week, the stock gained 12% and nearly 13% in May. The company Thursday posted a nearly 11 times surge in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter, while its top line grew almost 11% on year.

Emkay Global Financial Services expects the timely ramp up of JSW Cement's Nagpur-Rajasthan integrated unit to be crucial for the company to deliver robust volume growth, given the optimal utilisation of existing clinker units. With the addition of 2.5 million tonnes per annum grinding unit capacity at Nagaur, which is likely to be commissioned by the March quarter of FY28, and with other grinding units, the brokerage sees the total capacity of JSW Cement to reach around 30 million tonnes per annum by 2027-28 (Apr-Mar).

JSW Cement's long-term growth outlook remains strong, supported by rising acceptance of ground granulated blast-furnace slag  across infrastructure and ready-mix concrete markets, ongoing cost optimisation initiatives, and timely execution of expansion project, according to PLM Capital, the new branding of Prabhudas Lilladher.

The margin impact on the cement sector seems to be manageable at current cost levels, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities said in its report. The industry is potentially able to offset near-term cost pressures through incremental pricing action, especially if price hikes are implemented in June, the brokerage said. 

"Based on prevailing industry pricing and cost assumptions, a 5% increase in overall costs (including imported fuel, diesel and packaging) could result in an EBITDA/t (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation per tonne) impact of over INR80/t, implying a required price increase of approximately INR5-7/bag (incl. GST) to offset the impact," according to Nomura's report. The brokerage maintained its 'buy' recommendation on UltraTech Cement, Ambuja Cements, Dalmia Bharat, Nuvoco Vistas Corp., The Ramco Cements, and Shree Cement.

TOP HEADLINES

* CemIndia, former employee discharged from graft proceedings in Andhra

*  JSW Cement Jan-Mar consol net profit surges over 10 times to INR 3.71 bln

* Gravita India ups Jaipur lead recycling unit capacity by 40,500 tn per annum

* JK Cement gets letter of intent for limestone mining lease in Andhra Pradesh

* Dalmia Bharat board to Saturday mull raising funds via equity

* Analyst Concall: Grasim eyes No 2 spot in decorative paints at earliest

* JK Lakshmi Cement Jan-Mar consol PAT falls 29% on year to INR 1.24 bln

* Earnings Outlook: Grasim's Q4 net loss to narrow; paints revenue seen rising

* High costs to weigh on cement cos' FY27 operating profitability, says ICRA

* JK Cement gets letter of intent for mining lease of 349 ha limestone block

* Earnings Outlook: Grasim's Q4 net loss to narrow; paints revenue seen rising

* Shree Cement gets INR-1.53-billion income tax demand

Following are the resistance and support levels for key cement stocks for next week as per calculations based on their prices on the National Stock Exchange:

End

Reported by Arundathi A R

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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