Ambuja Cements Ltd — Q4 FY26
Ambuja Cements reported a disappointing Q4 FY26 with cost per ton surging to ₹4,500, well above the earlier target of ₹4,100, driven by higher freight, packing costs from the We...
bearish
high
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Claim Ledger
Did management answer the analysts?
Every material analyst question, graded on whether management actually answered it — with the verbatim exchange and quantitative claims checked against filed numbers.
67%Questions answered2Evaded / deflected12Questions audited
Partial answer
High priority
Volume growth flattish after adjusting Orient; FY27 guidance of 80mt vs industry 5% growth.
Asked by Naven Sadu, ICA Securities
Acknowledged muted volume but gave qualitative outlook without quantifying current quarter volume.
no specific volume breakdowndeferred to future capacity additions
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Question
volumes have grown by about 10 odd percent. But if I adjust them to the orient cement volumes they are more like flattish on a y basis... for FY27 we have given a guidance of 80 million tons which is roughly a growth of 9 to 10% against the backdrop that we are expecting a much softer industry growth of 5%.
Karan (Director)
for the March quarter it has been little muted... for the FY27... we have the visibility in terms of stabilizing the acquired assets... ongoing expansions which will get commissioned in the next few months... around 10 million tons.
Partial answer
High priority
Capex recalibration: timeline for next growth plan and preference for organic vs inorganic.
Asked by Naven Sadu, ICA Securities
Gave qualitative preference but no concrete timeline for next growth plan.
no specific timelinedeferred to FY30
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Question
we are re-calibrating our entire growth plan... by when will we get a color on the next leg of capex... are we more open to pursue inorganic growth or we still believe organic is the way to go?
Karan (Director)
our primary focus remains organic... we have a good headroom to improve our overall market share... we are going to follow a quite disciplined capital allocation... the target plans of FY28 it could move a year or two... FY30.
Answered
Medium priority
Current clinker capacity and additions.
Asked by Rashi Chopra, City
Provided specific current capacity and planned addition.
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Question
What is the clinker capacity as of now?
Karan (Director)
as of now we are sitting on 73 million tons of clinker capacity and you will be adding another 4 million this year.
Answered
High priority
Cost per ton for Q4 and expected cost trajectory.
Asked by Rashi Chopra, City
Provided specific cost numbers for the quarter.
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Question
For the quarter what was the average cost?
Karan (Director)
we are sitting at almost 4,250 rupees for the overall quarter... plus some of these increases... almost we are at now 4,500 rupees a ton for the quarter of March.
Answered
High priority
Cement pricing trends and ability to pass on cost increases.
Asked by Rashi Chopra, City
Provided specific pricing data and candid assessment.
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Question
On the pricing, what has happened to offset these cost pressures? Cement pricing.
Karan (Director)
industry has seen a modest improvement of 10 rupees in few pockets... otherwise ballpark for the quarter of March it around ballpark 10 rupees... industry is still under relentless pressure and not able to pass on the price.
Evasive
High priority
Realization barely moved despite higher trade and premium mix.
Asked by Indrajit Agarwal, CLSA
Did not explain why realization barely moved despite mix improvement.
no explanation for weak realizationdeferred to future quarters
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Question
if I look at slide 27, the realization has hardly moved QQ versus appears it is up somewhere between one and a half to 2%. So is it mainly because of mix or what is driving this weaker element?
Karan (Director)
the journey has just begun... you will see it more differentiated benefits coming in the subsequent quarters... we have sustained the price levels at 254 rupees a bag compared to in December.
Partial answer
High priority
Why fixed cost increased significantly vs peers; rationale for plant shutdowns in high-volume quarters.
Asked by Jesa, Namora
Listed reasons but did not quantify the gap vs peers or explain shutdown timing.
no quantification of fixed cost vs peersblamed acquired assets
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Question
why among all your peers Ambuja is seeing such a increase in its cost structure... why are you taking plant shutdowns in volume push quarters and why is Ambuja's fixed cost increasing way higher than its peers?
Karan (Director)
higher focus on branding advertisement... higher repairs and maintenance... few breakdowns of acquired assets... higher heat consumption... acquired assets still not at desired levels.
Answered
High priority
Target utilization for acquired assets in FY27 and additional capex needed.
Asked by Jesa, Namora
Provided specific utilization targets for each asset.
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Question
what is your target utilization from the assets of Sanghi, Orient and Penna for FY27... will there be additional capex required to bring the acquired asset to Ambuja's standards?
Karan (Director)
Orient is operating at full capacity... Sani 65 to 70%... Penna 55 to 60%... existing Ambuja and ACC 75 to 80%... overall average 70 to 75% utilization.
Partial answer
High priority
Cost discrepancy: earlier guided 4,100 exit but Q4 cost 4,500; negative operating cash flow at ACC.
Asked by Pratik Kumar, Jeff
Explained March exit cost but did not reconcile how quarterly average became 4,500.
blamed external factorsno reconciliation of quarterly average
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Question
In the last third quarter con call management talked about cost of 4,000 rupees... we talking about 4,100 rupees exit of this quarter. So, how the Q4 quarter cost is 4,500? ... ACC's operating cash flows are negative... can you throw some light?
Karan (Director)
we had basically hit it 4,100 for the month of March... but then the escalations of war almost 250 rupees affected us... on a normalized basis I was paying 4,100 for March.
Evasive
High priority
Reconcile earlier commentary of 4,000 exit cost with actual Q4 cost of 4,500.
Asked by Amar Singha, Nepal India AMC
Admitted earlier guidance was aspirational but did not provide detailed reconciliation.
retreated from earlier guidanceblamed external factors
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Question
if I quote the average cost for the quarter was 4,500 rupees along with the one off whereas we have exited December quarter well below 4,000 rupees of cost... trying to understand how the entire cost shoots up...
Karan (Director)
the commentary was more about our aspiration... please don't mistaken with 4,000 as average for the March quarter... we unfortunately could not come below 4,500 for this entire quarter of March 26.
Answered
Medium priority
Importance of Nalia railway line for Sanghi ramp-up.
Asked by Pulkit Partney, Goldman Sachs
Clearly stated that ramp-up does not depend on railway line.
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Question
for the Sanghi plant which is operating at 57% utilization, how important is for the Nalia railway line to be ready and how far do you see Nalia being connected?
Karan (Director)
our base model is not linked to Nadiad railway line... it is more with our marine infra... we have already ordered seven vessels... the railway line only will be an add-on.
Answered
High priority
Cost reduction guidance of 250 rupees per ton for FY27 and FY28 each.
Asked by Pinakin, HMBC
Provided specific cost reduction targets for two years.
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Question
can you give us some guidance where you move away from cost to EBITDA per ton... what are the building blocks of that margin?
Karan (Director)
cost we are looking at roughly 250 rupees a ton reduction this year and then another reduction of 250 rupees next year as well that is the minimum reduction that we are looking at.