Investors were keenly awaiting Ultratech Cement’s March 2026 quarterly results in a bid to understand its ability to manage rising input costs at a time when the local economy has been reeling from the impact of the Middle East war. Meanwhile, cement prices / realisations have been broadly flat y-o-y in Q4FY26.
UltraTech Cement is the largest domestic cement player with a pan India capacity that recently crossed 200 million tonnes.
UltraTech Cement in Q4FY26 – managing a rising cost structure amidst the Middle East war
UltraTech Cement – operational parameters on a per tonne basis in Q4FY26
| Consolidated operational costs | Percent change (y-o-y) |
| Power and fuel expenses (per tonne basis) | Fall of 5.5% |
| Freight and forwarding expenses (per tonne basis) | Fall of 1% |
| Core operating profit (per tonne basis) | Rise of 10.3% |
UltraTech’s key freight and forwarding expenses declined nearly 1% y-o-y to Rs 1,260 per tonne in Q4FY26. UltraTech Cement has once again highlighted that it has reduced the distance by 18 km in its distribution network on a pan India basis in the March 2026 quarter, and it has helped to keep costs in check on a per tonne basis, at a time when prices of petroleum products have shown a rising trend in the country.
Also, power and fuel expenses of UltraTech Cement fell nearly 5.5% y-o-y Rs 1,211 per tonne in the March 2026 quarter.
The Mumbai-based cement company has once again benefited from an expansion in its renewable energy capacity, which amounted to 1,392 MW at the end of FY26 as against 612 MW at the end of FY24, according to the investor presentation for Q4FY26.
As a result, in its grey cement division, renewable energy amounted to 20.4% of total energy usage in Q4FY26 as against 13.9% a year earlier, according to its investor presentation. Higher renewable energy used helped UltraTech Cement to once again deal with the rising cost of pet coke, which has shown a rising trend owing to surging shipping freight rates emanating from the Middle East crisis.
A tight check on its operational costs helped UltraTech Cement’s core consolidated operating profit per tonne rise nearly 10.3% y-o-y to Rs 1,253 per tonne in Q4FY26.
Cement prices in the March 2026 quarter – barely grew pan India
UltraTech Cement sold 44.71 million tonnes of cement on a consolidated basis in the March 2026 quarter, a rise of 9% y-o-y.
Its realisations grew barely an estimated 1.8% y-o-y to Rs 5,770 per tonne in the March 2026 quarter.
Industry sources highlight southern cement prices have shown an increase in Q4FY26, however, in western and northern regions realisations have been largely stable in the quarter under review.
Cement prices have barely risen in the peak construction season of Q4FY26 on account of sluggish pace in implementation of construction projects. It is also understood that in several parts of the country, construction labour has returned to their home towns / villages during the recent Holi festival holidays, given shortage of petroleum products in the country and in turn affected cement demand.
The company has highlighted that during FY26, southern region accounted for 26.4% of its total domestic capacity of 191.4 million tonnes, northern region 19.6% and central region 18.6%.
A tight check on its operating costs helped UltraTech Cement’s operating profit margin rise 170 basis points y-o-y to 21.7% in the March 2026 quarter.
Also, its consolidated net profit rose nearly 21.3% y-o-y to Rs 3,000 crore in the March 2026 quarter.
Growth outlook
UltraTech Cement had recently brought on stream an additional 8.7 million tonnes of cement capacity in the peak construction season, and it would take its total local cement capacity to nearly 200.1 million tonnes.
The RBI and the central government have taken several steps to boost economic activity in the country including the central bank cutting the repo rate in early December 2025. Investors will be closely monitoring the level of construction activity in the peak construction season.
A cause for concern for investors is that in several parts of the country, construction labour has returned to their hometowns / villages during the recent Holi festival holidays, given shortage of petroleum products in the country and in turn affected the level of construction activity.
Investors will also be closely monitoring one again whether UltraTech Cement and other leading cement players, and their ability to manage the rising input cost pressure at a time when the Middle East crisis has not shown clear signs of decisively ending.
Leading agencies have also downgraded expected growth of the local economy to 6% to 6.5% for FY27, and its impact on cement demand is being monitored by investors.
45.6x P/E: Is UltraTech Cement Too Expensive for Your 2026 Watchlist?
Valuations of UltraTech Cement versus its peers
| Cement Company | Consolidated P/E |
| UltraTech Cement | 45.6 |
| Shree Cement | 50.6 |
| Dalmia Bharat | 31 |
| ACC (standalone) | 10.8 |
The UltraTech Cement stock ended broadly flat at Rs 12,013 in Monday trade, and hovering not too far from its 52-week high of Rs 13,104 that was reached on 10 February, 2026.
The company’s board has declared a dividend of Rs 240 per share, and it implies a dividend yield of nearly 2%. It has a return on capital employed (ROCE) of 12.8%, according to Screener.in.
Ultratech Cement trades at a consolidated P/E of 45.6 times, and over the past 5 years, it has traded between 20.8 times and 59.5 times.
Other leading players like Shree Cement trades at a consolidated P/E of 50.6 times, and over the past 5 years, it has traded between 27.9 times and 101.2 times. It has a ROCE of 6.7%.
Shree Cement had nearly 65.8 million tonnes of cement capacity at the end of Q3FY26
Dalmia Bharat trades at a consolidated P/E of 31 times, and over the past 5 years, it has traded between 22.6 times and 63.9 times. It has a ROCE of 5.6%.
Dalmia Bharat had nearly 49.5 million tonne cement capacity at the end of December 2025 quarter.
Investors can put UltraTech Cement on their watch list of stocks for 2026, and closely monitor if the company’s performance continues to surprise on the upside.
Amriteshwar Mathur is a financial journalist with over 20 years of experience.
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