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Informist, Thursday, Jul. 16, 2026

 

By Shreya Shetty

 

MUMBAI - JK Cement Ltd.'s net profit is expected to decline year-on-year for the third consecutive quarter in Apr-Jun amid peak cost inflation, according to analysts. The company's revenue is also likely to fall on quarter, though it is seen higher than a year ago due to growing market share, they said.

 

JK Cement is estimated to post a net profit of INR 2.78 billion for the June quarter, down more than 16% on year, according to the average of estimates from eight brokerages. The highest estimate for the bottom line is INR 3.16 billion from JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt. Ltd. The lowest estimate is INR 2.23 billion from Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd.

 

The company is expected to post net sales of INR 35.17 billion for the quarter, up more than 10% on year, based on the average of eight estimates. The highest estimate for the top line is INR 37.61 billion from Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. and the lowest is INR 32.66 billion from Nuvama.

 

From the previous quarter, the company's net profit is expected to fall more than 19%, while revenue is seen down nearly 5%. JK Cement reported a consolidated net profit of INR 3.45 billion on revenue of INR 36.84 billion for the March quarter. For the year-ago quarter, it reported a consolidated net profit of INR 3.32 billion on revenue of INR 31.90 billion.

 

Fuel cost inflation peaked further in Apr-Jun due to the war in West Asia, adding to the input costs which had already risen in the previous quarter, analysts said. This, along with a seasonally weak demand period, hurt the company's profitability, they said. Intense heatwaves, labour unavailability due to state assembly elections in east and south India, and water scarcity, among other reasons, led to only mid-single digit demand growth, they said.

 

"Demand was sluggish during Apr-May 2026 due to global uncertainty, labour shortages, heatwaves, raw material shortages, and unseasonal rains," according to Nuvama. While the hike in the price of cement in April sustained, weak demand in May and June kept prices stable at the April level, with some weakness due to region-specific issues, according to Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd.

 

Though input costs remained high due to higher pet coke, freight, and packaging costs, they were partly offset by stable cement pricing during the quarter, analysts said. Some analysts see healthy volume growth in the June quarter due to a ramp-up of new capacities, the delayed onset of the monsoon, and a favourable base in north India, where demand was impacted by the India-Pakistan conflict last year.

 

"While the quarter is seasonally weaker due to the onset of monsoon, healthy demand from the individual housing and infrastructure segments coupled with firm pricing across regions, is expected to support revenue growth," according to Sytematix Shares and Stocks (India) Ltd.

 

JK Cement has increased its grey cement capacity to 32.26 million tonnes per annum.

 

Four brokerages see the company's volume growing in the range of 9-14% on year in the June quarter, while one sees volumes declining over 10%. The cement maker's grey cement volume is expected to grow 9% on year, according to Nuvama.

 

JK Cement's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation for the June quarter are estimated at INR 6.01 billion, according to an average of seven estimates. This is down nearly 11% from INR 6.73 billion in the year-ago quarter. Estimates for the company's EBITDA range from INR 5.57 billion from Nuvama to INR 6.30 billion from JM Financial. Most brokerages expect a decline in the company's EBITDA per tonne due to higher input costs. 

 

JK Cement will announce its June quarter earnings on Saturday. Thursday, shares of the company closed at INR 5,428.5 apiece on the National Stock Exchange, flat from Wednesday. The stock is flat since the company announced its March earnings on May 23. Of the 15 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, 13 have a "buy" or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 6,328, up over 17% from the current market price. One brokerage has a "hold" recommendation with a target price of INR 5,386.

 

Following are the Apr-Jun earnings estimates for JK Cement, in INR billion, from eight brokerage firms in descending order of the net profit estimate:

 

Brokerage	Net sales	Net profit	EBITDA
JM Financial Institutional Securities Pvt Ltd.	35.74	3.16	6.30
Kotak Securities Ltd.	35.62	2.99	6.09
Elara Securities (India) Pvt. Ltd.	36.05	2.91	6.17
Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers Ltd.	33.95	2.82
Systematix Shares and Stocks (India) Ltd.	33.80	2.80	5.60
PhillipCapital (India) Pvt. Ltd.	35.96	2.78	6.11
Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd.	37.61	2.59	6.21
Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd.	32.66	2.23	5.57
Average	35.17	2.78	6.01

 

End

 

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

 

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

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