UltraTech sold more cement in Q2 but fuel costs cut per-tonne profit
UltraTech Cement, which makes grey cement for homes and infrastructure, filed its Q2FY27 results presentation on 19 October 2026 for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 . Consolidated sales volume rose 12.9% to 3.82 crore tonnes and net sales rose 18.9% to Rs.23,024 crore, while profit after tax rose 21.3% to Rs.1,501 crore . Brand-led volume growth offset weak monsoon demand and higher fuel costs.
Sales and profit rose together on higher volumes
Growth accelerated down the profit and loss account, with profit growing faster than sales alongside higher volumes . The quarter was seasonally softer than the June quarter, as management had flagged on the July call when it asked investors to look through monsoon and West Asia cost noise while keeping a double-digit volume target for FY27 .
Source: .
| Consolidated, Rs.crore | Q2FY26 | Q2FY27 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales | 19,371 | 23,024 | 18.9% |
| Operating EBITDA | 3,094 | 3,721 | 20.3% |
| Profit after tax (PAT) | 1,238 | 1,501 | 21.3% |
Source: .
| Consolidated, Rs.crore | Q1FY27 | Q2FY27 |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA after other income | 5,146 | 3,832 |
| Profit after tax (PAT) | 2,604 | 1,501 |
Profit after tax means profit after tax, interest, depreciation and exceptional items. The sequential fall came in the monsoon quarter, when management had anticipated lower volumes, maintenance and fuel pressure. Its guidance of Rs.130 to Rs.140 per tonne sequentially into Q2 covered the combined cost pressure, including maintenance, operating deleverage and fuel, rather than fuel alone .
Bigger plants sold more cement led by UltraTech brand
Scale supported volume. Consolidated grey capacity reached 210.1 mtpa on 30 September 2026 after 4.6 mtpa was commissioned in the quarter, up from 192.3 mtpa a year ago . Domestic grey drove the increase while overseas slipped, and brand conversion lifted the UltraTech share .
Source: .
| Q2FY27 volume | MnT | YoY change |
|---|---|---|
| Grey cement domestic | 35.94 | 13.8% |
| White cement domestic | 0.52 | 2.6% |
| Overseas grey plus white | 1.75 | -1.4% |
| Consolidated sales volume | 38.22 | 12.9% |
The UltraTech brand grew 20.2% year on year, faster than total volume, after Kesoram and India Cements brands were converted fully to UltraTech . That follows 21.3% brand growth in Q1FY27 on the same conversion .
Realisation rose year-on-year but eased from June
Realisation is selling price net of GST less discounts, with last year restated to include India Cements . It improved from a year ago but eased from the June quarter, while grey domestic revenue grew on volume .
Source: .
| Grey domestic realisation, Rs. per tonne | Q2FY26 | Q1FY27 | Q2FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling price net of GST less discounts | 5,076 | 5,218 | 5,176 |
Management describes the result as higher earnings per tonne built on brand and cost control . On the July call it said premiumisation and blended cement in the trade mix compounds blended realisation regardless of headline price moves .
Source: .
| Q2FY27 sales mix | Share |
|---|---|
| Trade versus non-trade, sales mix | 65.1% versus 34.9% |
| Bag versus bulk, share of sales | 78.8% versus 21.2% |
| Direct versus depot, share of sales | 60.8% versus 39.2% |
| Road versus rail versus sea, share of transport | 77.0% versus 21.0% versus 2.0% |
The tilt to trade, bagged and direct sales keeps UltraTech exposed to retail homebuilders, who were about 65% to 66% of sales in Q1FY27 with institutions at about 35% .
Higher fuel costs outweighed year-on-year power savings
Fuel cost rose year-on-year and sequentially. Power cost fell year-on-year, while logistics cost fell sequentially but was almost flat year-on-year . Management said Q2 would carry full war impact from July plus monsoon maintenance and operating deleverage from lower volumes, and that war and normal maintenance could not be separated .
Source: .
| Grey domestic cost including India Cements, Rs. per tonne | Q2FY26 | Q2FY27 | YoY change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logistics | 1,134 | 1,136 | 0.1% up |
| Fuel | 901 | 1,030 | 14% up |
| Power | 382 | 337 | 12% down |
| Raw material | 677 | 718 | 6% up |
Logistics held almost flat as lead distance fell to 358 km, down 8 km year on year and 2 km sequentially, helped by rail busy-season surcharge waiver . Fuel rate rose to Rs.2.09 per 1,000 kcal from Rs.1.80 a year ago and Rs.1.90 in Q1FY27 . Raw material rose on higher industrial diesel for limestone raising . Packing bag cost rose to Rs.216 per tonne from Rs.166 on crude linked to Middle-East conflict, while other costs rose from Rs.543 to Rs.692 per tonne quarter-on-quarter, with the presentation citing an operating leverage impact .
Power savings came from shifting away from captive thermal toward waste heat recovery and renewables, with lower consumption per tonne .
Source: .
| Power mix and rate | Q2FY26 | Q2FY27 |
|---|---|---|
| Captive thermal share and rate, Rs. per kWh | 36.8% at 6.90 | 31.4% at 6.01 |
| Waste heat recovery share and rate, Rs. per kWh | 18.0% at 0.81 | 22.0% at 0.72 |
| Renewable share and rate, Rs. per kWh | 21.1% at 4.61 | 25.1% at 4.78 |
| Average cost and use | 5.31 at 71.97 kWh per tonne | 4.77 at 70.60 kWh per tonne |
In Q1FY27 fuel cost for domestic operations excluding India Cements had risen from Rs.874 to Rs.915 per tonne . The current cost tables include India Cements, so the bases differ . On the July call, management also said bags had risen from about Rs.9 to Rs.12 per bag on average, with blended coal at USD134 per tonne and industrial diesel up to Rs.150 to Rs.157 per litre .
Monsoon lowered plant use but returns stayed double digit
Utilisation fell from the June quarter on the enlarged base in the rains, and operating EBITDA per tonne was below the June quarter level of above Rs.1,200 . Return on capital employed, defined as operating EBIT over average capital employed excluding treasury surplus, stayed double digit .
Capacity utilisation was 71% in Q2FY27, with operating EBITDA per tonne at Rs.974, up Rs.60 year-on-year, and return on capital employed at 12.6% . Leaner operations helped, with waste heat recovery at 444 MW up 20% year on year and renewable power at 1.58 GW up 29%, taking green power capacity past 2 GW .
The path stays expansion-led, funded from internal accruals and backed by secured limestone .
Source: .
| Grey cement capacity, mtpa | FY26 | FY27 estimated | FY28 estimated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall including 5.4 overseas | 196.8 | 213.1 | 242.9 |
The company plans 16.3 mtpa addition in FY27 and 29.8 mtpa in FY28 across greenfield and brownfield sites including India Cements sites, with about Rs.17,000 crore of growth capex over the next 2 to 2.5 years to go beyond 24.20 crore tonnes .
Demand was mixed. Central infrastructure grew ahead of elections and North and West were supported by expressways and metros, while East was hit by fund-flow delays and floods and South infrastructure was muted, though housing, rural and commercial demand grew in most regions . The macro slide cites Union Budget capex of Rs.12.2 lakh crore in FY27 with about 42% spent by August to sustain infrastructure, housing and industrial demand .
Concrete and chemicals grew faster than cement
Ready-mix concrete and construction chemicals outgrew grey cement revenue, while white cement grew more slowly than grey cement . Ready-mix remains small in cement use but carries high returns and links to urbanisation .
Source: .
| Consolidated revenue Q2FY27, Rs.crore | Revenue | YoY growth |
|---|---|---|
| Grey cement domestic | 18,603 | 16.0% |
| Ready-mix concrete | 2,338 | 29.1% |
| Construction chemicals | 421 | 48.4% |
| White cement domestic | 693 | 12.2% |
| Total after inter-company elimination | 23,024 | 18.9% |
Ready-mix volume was 46.50 lakh cubic metres, up 23%, using 13.30 lakh tonnes of cement, or 3.5% of cement volume, at 34% return on capital employed . Distribution reach rose to 6,289 UBS outlets, up 24% year on year .
Sources: Q3 FY26 — ; Q4 FY26 — ; Q1 FY27 — ; Q2 FY27 — .
| Ready-mix footprint | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | 425 | 465 | 477 | 485 |
| Cities | 163 | 167 | 170 | 179 |
Management calls ready-mix an integral part of the offering and a future growth engine, not a business to monetise .
New cables business started selling in September
Ultravolt wires and cables launched on 3 September 2026 with over 15,000 serviceable pin codes, over 500 districts and over 80,000 retailers and electricians onboarded . Planned consumption capacity is 78,000 tonnes of copper and 24,000 tonnes of aluminium, with capex committed or spent of about Rs.1,100 crore .
The July call had put the approved programme at Rs.1,800 crore with Rs.888 crore spent or committed, with commissioning reaffirmed for the October-December 2026 quarter and no further investment foreseen before milking the investment . Working capital is expected to stabilise near 30 days by April-June 2027 after an initial ramp . A new Birla White anti-efflorescence putty was also launched .
Debt rose while cash generation improved
Net debt rose as fixed assets grew and treasury surplus fell, while operating cash flow improved on higher EBITDA and lower working capital build . The July call put net debt to EBITDA at 0.87 times at end-June from 0.94 at the start of the year, with confidence of ending below 1 time .
Source: .
| Consolidated, Rs.crore | March 2026 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Net fixed assets | 1,08,035 | 1,10,944 |
| Net debt | 16,620 | 23,536 |
| Gross debt less treasury surplus | 22,781 less 6,161 | 28,411 less 4,875 |
| Shareholders funds including minority | 80,712 | 77,702 |
Source: .
| Consolidated half year, Rs.crore | H1FY26 | H1FY27 |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | 7,859 | 8,978 |
| Operating cash flow | 4,875 | 6,181 |
| Capex and investments outflow | 4,880 | 5,882 |
| Free cash flow to equity | 599 | 388 |
Green power mix was 46.4% of total power in H1FY27 toward an 85% FY30 target, with Kukurdih now on full green electricity and over 600 electric trucks to be added by December 2026 to cut over 1,17,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year .
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