ACC Ltd Q2FY26 – The Cement Veteran’s ₹5,932 Cr Quarter That Mixed Profit, Tax Write-Backs, and Adani Ambitions
1. At a Glance
ACC Ltd — India’s 89-year-old cement patriarch and now the Adani Group’s hardworking middle child — just dropped a quarter that can only be described as “cemented chaos with a profit twist.” For Q2FY26, revenue stood at ₹5,932 crore (up 28% YoY), while PAT jumped 460% to ₹1,119 crore — partly thanks to tax write-backs and partly because ACC finally remembered it’s supposed to make money.
At ₹1,881 per share and a P/E of 10.9x, the stock looks like the introvert at a high-valuation party — quietly sipping its lime soda while peers like UltraTech and Shree Cement chug champagne at 40–60x earnings. The market cap sits at ₹35,330 crore, and with an ROCE of 17.4%, ROE of 13.2%, and debt of only ₹485 crore (that’s less than Adani’s airport parking bill), ACC is financially sound — just slightly sleepy.
2. Introduction – The Cement Dinosaur Learns to Dance (Adani Style)
Once upon a time, ACC was the OG cement maker — the Ambuja before Ambuja, the UltraTech before Birla thought of UltraTech. But somewhere between Holcim’s Swiss discipline and Adani’s expansion fever, ACC became that elder cousin who watches the younger ones build airports and green hydrogen plants while still figuring out the right cement mix for a water tank.
Now, under the Adani umbrella, the narrative has changed. The company is done playing safe — it’s scaling capacity, automating kilns, and even flirting with renewables. In Q2FY26, ACC reported 10 million tonnes of sales volume, a capacity of 38.55 MTPA, and plans to touch 43.7 MTPA soon with upcoming Salai Banwa and Sindri expansions.
And that PAT growth? A 460% YoY jump that includes a ₹671 crore tax write-back and ₹369 crore land sale gain. It’s less “operational excellence” and more “accounting acrobatics.” But hey, profit is profit — even if it came riding on the Income Tax Department’s refund bus.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Cement (94% of FY24 revenue) ACC is the cement equivalent of a neighborhood chai stall — ubiquitous, essential, and somehow still underappreciated. The company offers two broad lines:
Gold Range: ACC Gold Water Shield, ACC F2R Superfast — premium brands for people who think their house should survive monsoons and in-laws.
Silver Range: ACC Suraksha, ACC HPC Long Life — affordable cement for real India, where waterproofing is optional but jugaad is mandatory.
Revenue here grew 31% between 2019 and FY24, largely driven by higher volumes (+28%) rather than pricing (+2%).
Ready-Mix Concrete (6%) ACC runs over 86 RMC plants with brands like ACC ECOMAxX and AEROMAxX — fancy names for concrete that’s supposed to save the planet one cubic meter at a time. The segment’s revenue fell 13%, but realisations rose 14%, proving that when in doubt, just charge more per bag.
Retail vs Wholesale Split: Retail contributes 72%, while institutional sales are 28%. Over 13,000 dealers and 39,000 sub-dealers make up the network, giving ACC serious distribution muscle.
Commentary: When your profit jumps 460% and you’re still trading below UltraTech’s P/E, you know Mr. Market still doesn’t trust you. Cement is cyclical, but ACC’s quarterly volatility is Bollywood dramatic.
5. Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range (Educational Only)
Method 1: P/E Approach
Sector average = 38.9x
Assign 40% PSU-style discount for cyclicality → 23x–25x
