The India Cements Limited

Basic Materials — Building Materials · NSE

₹301.75+₹4.35 (+1.46%)

DalalBaazaar Score

37 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Moderate

Driven by negative free cash flow, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings, a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:01 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

The India Cements Limited manufactures and sells cement and cement-related products in India. The company offers grey and white cement, ready mix concrete, and clinkers.

IndustryBuilding Materials

SectorBasic Materials

Employees1,420

Annual revenue₹4,454 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹4,454 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹-2 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹9 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,420 employees supports ₹3.14 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹3.14 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 0.3% 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%

What is the outlook?

2 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 18.8% and earnings to grow about 58.5% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+18.8%

Est. earnings growth+58.5%

Analysts2

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -20% while net margin moved -33% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect-20%

Margin effect-33%

DalalBaazaar Score

37/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 7.3% a year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

32/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

32/ 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.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

101.3x

Sector Median

36.2x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Against its sector it trades 180% above the peer median of 36.2x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Expensive

36.2x median of 4 peers · +180%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

38.7x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from -2.6% to 8.9% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 56% over 3 years.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from -1.9% to 0.3%.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.13x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 0.3x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴The company is lossmakingFinancial
Net profit of -₹67 Cr in the latest reported year.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹249 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from -2.6% to 8.9%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 56% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 3.3x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 180% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Size brings its own risk
Small 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
2 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 7%✓ 8.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 3.3x
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✗ -₹249 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 0.3x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 0.3%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

4 / 12 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
✗ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 2 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹14,027 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

101.3x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

0.92x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹2.98

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

-0.7%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

0.3%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.13x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-0.5%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

53.2%

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

-₹249 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

18.0x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

8.2%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

2.1%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

1.01

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.30

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

310.9 / 344.4

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

34.5

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹5,600 Cr	₹4,998 Cr	₹4,132 Cr	₹4,454 Cr	-7.3%
EBITDA	-₹143 Cr	₹136 Cr	-₹308 Cr	₹396 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	-2.6%	2.7%	-7.4%	8.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹127 Cr	-₹227 Cr	-₹144 Cr	-₹67 Cr	—
EPS	₹-4.04	₹-7.32	₹-4.64	₹-2.17	—
ROE	-2.2%	-4.1%	-1.4%	-0.7%	—
ROCE	-1.9%	-0.5%	0.7%	0.3%	—
Total Debt	₹2,945 Cr	₹2,633 Cr	₹1,165 Cr	₹1,305 Cr	-23.8%
Free Cash Flow	-₹77 Cr	₹217 Cr	-₹319 Cr	-₹249 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 7.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has turned positive, from -₹143 Cr to ₹396 Cr.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from -2.6% to 8.9% over 3 years (+11.4 pts).

🟢 ROE has risen from -2.2% to -0.7% over 3 years (+1.5 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from -1.9% to 0.3% over 3 years (+2.2 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 23.8% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹13,403 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹3,279 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹14 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹27 Cr

Capex

-₹223 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

11.2%

Insider Holding

75.2%

Corporate Actions

Ex-Dividend Date

20 Sept 2022

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

1 Buy · 1 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹380

+25.9% vs CMP

Target Range

₹250 – ₹600

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

1 positive2 mixed3 general

India Cements: नफ्यात जबरदस्त वाढ, तरीही कायदेशीर कचाट्यात कंपनी

Whalesbook, 17 Oct

The India Cements Share Price: price action and fundamentals

Univest, 05 Oct

India Cements Q2FY27 net profit rises 160% to ₹38.85 crore

scanx.trade, 17 OctResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

The India Cements (INDIACEM) Share/Stock Price Live, NSE

TechGraph, 10 Oct

India Cements Share Price Falls 6% Despite Returning To Profit In Q1

NDTV Profit, 20 JulPrice 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.

India Cements jumps 13% on Q4 beat; Motilal Oswal retains Sell: Here's why

Business Standard, 27 AprResults

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

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-0.5%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
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.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

MiddlingFinancial Health · Valuation · Risk

WeakBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability

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. 2 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 ↑