J.K. Cement Limited

Basic Materials — Building Materials · NSE

₹4,930.00+₹31.00 (+0.63%)

DalalBaazaar Score

59 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by moderate debt load, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, negative free cash flow.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

J.K. Cement Limited manufactures and sells cement and its related products in India and internationally. The company offers grey cement products; JKMaxx paints, including interior and exterior emulsions, distemper, enamel, and primers; wall putty; and white cement.

IndustryBuilding Materials

SectorBasic Materials

Employees4,952

Annual revenue₹13,391 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹13,391 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹7 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹19 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 4,952 employees supports ₹2.70 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin19.0%

Net margin7.4%

Revenue / employee₹2.70 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.

ULTRATECH CEMENT LIMITEDP/E 37.6x · ROE 11.1%

GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 34.8x · ROE 5.5%

AMBUJA CEMENTS LTDP/E 20.4x · ROE 7.4%

SHREE CEMENT LIMITEDP/E 49.7x · ROE 7.0%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 13.3% 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.

ROCE13.3%

ROE14.1%

Peer median ROE7.4%

What is the outlook?

24 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 18.3% and earnings to grow about 28.2% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+18.3%

Est. earnings growth+28.2%

Analysts24

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +41% while net margin moved +66% 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+41%

Margin effect+66%

DalalBaazaar Score

59/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• Debt/Equity of 0.88x is manageable
✗ Current ratio of 0.93 — short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets
✗ Free cash flow is negative — growth is being funded by borrowing or fresh equity
• Interest cover of 4.4x is adequate

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

62/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

57/ 100

Fair

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

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

40.3x

3Y Median

50.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 55.2x · range 38.3x–82.4x

Sector Median

36.2x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 21% below its 3y median of 50.8x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟡Against its sector it is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 36.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

50.8x median over 40 months · -21%

vs. sector peers

Fair

36.2x median of 4 peers · +11%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

40.3x

P/B

5.41x

EV/EBITDA

17.3x

PEG

1.23

Dividend Yield

0.41%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 14.8% to 19.0% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 9.0% to 14.1%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 9.0% to 13.3%.
Valuation below its historical average
At 40.3x the stock trades 21% below its own median of 50.8x.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Short-term liquidity is tight
Current ratio of 0.93 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 2 watch

🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹393 Cr in the latest year.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.93 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 14.8% to 19.0%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 21% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

No clear risk case emerges from the available numbers — which is not the same as there being none.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 9% a year✓ 12.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 28.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 17%✓ 19.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹393 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5ROCE stays above 10%✓ 13.3%
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

2 good · 5 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹38,093 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

40.3x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

5.41x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹122.37

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

14.1%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

13.3%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.88x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

28.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-14.5%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.41%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

-₹393 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹4,930

P/E (Forward)

25.3x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

11.9%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

6.6%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.93

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.39

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

14%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

4980.9 / 5088.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

46.3

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹9,504 Cr	₹11,203 Cr	₹11,493 Cr	₹13,391 Cr	+12.1%
EBITDA	₹1,403 Cr	₹2,200 Cr	₹2,189 Cr	₹2,550 Cr	+22.0%
EBITDA Margin	14.8%	19.6%	19.0%	19.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹424 Cr	₹791 Cr	₹861 Cr	₹992 Cr	+32.8%
EPS	₹54.82	₹102.35	₹111.44	₹128.44	+32.8%
ROE	9.0%	14.7%	14.1%	14.1%	—
ROCE	9.0%	14.2%	13.3%	13.3%	—
Total Debt	₹5,292 Cr	₹5,552 Cr	₹6,028 Cr	₹6,183 Cr	+5.3%
Free Cash Flow	-₹234 Cr	₹787 Cr	₹220 Cr	-₹393 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 12.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 22.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 14.8% to 19.0% over 3 years (+4.3 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 32.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 32.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 9.0% to 14.1% over 3 years (+5.1 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 9.0% to 13.3% over 3 years (+4.3 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 5.3% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹18,500 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹11,410 Cr

Total Debt

₹6,183 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹119 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,873 Cr

Capex

-₹2,266 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

34.3%

Insider Holding

54.3%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

24 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹20

Ex-Dividend Date

10 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

24 Buy · 4 Hold · 1 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹6,191.11

+25.6% vs CMP

Target Range

₹4,200 – ₹7,400

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

2 mixed4 general

J.K. Cement (BSE:532644) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 14 OctAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

JK Cement Shares In Focus As MOSL Remains Bullish On Capacity Expansion; Check Target Price

NDTV Profit, 14 OctCapacity

🟡Mixed / dependsCapacity additions can raise revenue over two to three years, but the capital spend usually pressures free cash flow first. Worth checking whether the capex is funded from operations or from borrowing.

JK Cement Share Price: Price Action, Valuation and Sector

Univest, 13 Oct

Surprised By J.K. Cement’s Slide? What Investors Missed

Yahoo Finance, 16 Oct

Buy JK Cement; target of Rs 5960: Motilal Oswal

Moneycontrol.com, 14 Oct

The Ramco Cements Share Price - Live NSE: RAMCOCEM Stock Price & Chart

Upstox, 16 Oct

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate11.7/20

🔴Financial HealthStretched8.7/20

🟢GrowthStrong16.1/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate9.6/15

🔴ValuationDemanding6.7/15

🟡RiskModerate5.8/10

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 9% a year12.1% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 17%19.0%
✗Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x2.4x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹393 Cr
✓ROCE stays above 10%13.3%