Andhra Cements Limited

Basic Materials — Building Materials · NSE

₹38.79−₹0.08 (−0.21%)

DalalBaazaar Score

30 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: The company is currently losing money, with both sales and profits growing well. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 8:27 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Andhra Cements Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Andhra Cements Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of cement worldwide. It sells its products under the SAGAR CEMENT brand name. The company was formerly known as Andhra Cement Company Limited and changed its name to Andhra Cements Limited in December 1990.

IndustryBuilding Materials

SectorBasic Materials

Employees180

Annual revenue₹441 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹441 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-15 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹3 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 180 employees supports ₹2.45 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹2.45 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED, GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD, AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD, SHREE CEMENT LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of -5.7% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE7.4%

DalalBaazaar Score

30/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Return on equity is negative
✗ ROE has fallen by 350.5 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

29/ 100

Weak

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

25/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Not enough peers with a usable P/E

vs. generic bands

N/A

No P/E — the company is lossmaking

EV/EBITDA

101.2x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well0

Nothing stands out as clearly improving on the years of data available.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 267.3% to -83.2% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 101.9% to -5.7% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

7 items require attention · 6 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 122% over 3 years, from ₹525 Cr to ₹1,166 Cr.
🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 13.96x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only -0.7x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹67 Cr in the latest reported year.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.67 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

No clear supporting case emerges from the available numbers.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 77.5x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 267.3% to -83.2%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Micro Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.
Several serious flags at once
6 high-severity checks triggered. Individually each has an explanation; together they raise the chance that something structural is wrong rather than a one-off.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 1%✓ 3.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 77.5x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹251 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ -0.7x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ -5.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 11 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✗ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✓ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

2 good · 3 neutral · 6 weak

Market Cap

₹358 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

Not meaningful

Loss-making

Earnings are negative, so a P/E multiple can't be read here

P/B Ratio

4.43x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹-7.98

Loss-making

Negative earnings per share — the business is losing money

ROE

-83.2%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

-5.7%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

13.96x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

42.8%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

55.8%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹251 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

Operating Margin

-12.0%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

-15.1%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

0.67

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.97

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

40.2 / 42.9

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

18.9

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	—	₹266 Cr	₹273 Cr	₹441 Cr	—
EBITDA	-₹23 Cr	-₹14 Cr	-₹30 Cr	₹15 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	—	-5.2%	-11.1%	3.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹950 Cr	-₹66 Cr	-₹152 Cr	-₹67 Cr	—
EPS	₹696.4	₹-7.12	₹-16.5	₹-7.29	—
ROE	267.3%	-22.1%	-105.2%	-83.2%	—
ROCE	101.9%	-5.1%	-12.1%	-5.7%	—
Total Debt	₹525 Cr	₹675 Cr	₹769 Cr	₹1,166 Cr	+30.5%
Free Cash Flow	-₹28 Cr	-₹141 Cr	-₹25 Cr	-₹251 Cr	—

🟢 EBITDA has turned positive, from -₹23 Cr to ₹15 Cr.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from -5.2% to 3.4% over 3 years (+8.6 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has turned negative, from ₹950 Cr to -₹67 Cr.

🔴 EPS has turned negative, from ₹696.4 to ₹-7.29.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 267.3% to -83.2% over 3 years (-350.5 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 101.9% to -5.7% over 3 years (-107.6 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 30.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1,420 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹1,339 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹25 Cr

Capex

-₹226 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

90.5%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITED	37.6x	11.1%
GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD	34.8x	5.5%
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD	20.4x	7.4%
SHREE CEMENT LIMITED	49.7x	7.0%

Recent News

3 mixed1 negative2 general

Andhra Cements Limited (ACL.NS) Ticks Up 1.14% to ₹39.78, Sits Midway Between Key Support and Resistance - Profitability Factor

https://www.siam.in/, 05 Oct

Andhra Cements Board Approves Merger with Sagar Cements; 1:7 Share Swap Ratio Fixed

Sahi, 05 JunM&A

🟡Mixed / dependsAcquisitions change the balance sheet before they change the earnings. Look at what was paid, how it was funded, and whether debt rose.

Andhra Cements stock jumps over 9% after parent Sagar Cements announces OFS stake sale; check floor price and stock trend

Upstox, 17 MarOwnership

🔴Potentially negativePromoter selling or pledging is a signal worth understanding, though the reason is often personal rather than about the business.

Andhra Cements Q1 Results: Net Loss Widens 24% YoY To ₹35.93 Cr

scanx.trade, 27 JulResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Andhra Cements Ltd. Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 30 Aug

Why Is Andhra Cements Share Price Falling: Key Reasons and Investor Analysis 2026

Univest, 13 MayPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

MiddlingGrowth

WeakBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Profitability · Valuation · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 6 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

4 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x; ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑