Mumbai, Nov 4 (IANS) JK Lakshmi Cement on Wednesday reported a sharp decline in profitability for the second quarter of FY27 as higher fuel costs and weaker operating margins weighed on earnings, despite growth in revenue and cement sales volumes.
The cement maker posted a net profit of Rs 21 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, marking a 74.1 per cent decline from Rs 81 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year (Q2 FY26), according to its stock exchange filing.
Revenue from operations, however, rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,617 crore during the July-September quarter, compared with Rs 1,532 crore a year earlier.
Cement sales volumes increased 5 per cent to 29.83 lakh tonnes from 28.43 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
Despite higher sales, operating performance came under pressure. EBITDA fell 25.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 155 crore from Rs 208 crore, while operating margin contracted to 10 per cent from 14 per cent in the corresponding quarter last year.
On a per-tonne basis, EBITDA declined 29 per cent to Rs 517 from Rs 732.
The company attributed the margin pressure largely to higher energy expenses. Fuel costs increased to Rs 1.82 per kilocalorie during the quarter, compared with Rs 1.54 per kilocalorie in the same period last year.
Average cement sales realisations remained largely stable at Rs 4,885 per tonne, compared with Rs 4,895 per tonne a year earlier.
Capacity utilisation stood at 62 per cent during the quarter, slightly lower than 65 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of FY26.
On the balance sheet front, JK Lakshmi Cement’s net debt rose to Rs 2,027 crore as of September 30, 2026, from Rs 1,266 crore at the end of March 2026.
The increase was mainly driven by ongoing capital expenditure on expansion projects at Durg and Madhubani, which are part of the company’s plan to raise overall cement production capacity to 25.1 million tonnes per annum by FY30.
Shares of the company ended Wednesday’s trading session 1.5 per cent higher. However, the stock has declined nearly 40 per cent so far this year.
–IANS
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