UltraTech Cement Limited

Basic Materials — Building Materials · NSE

₹10,907.00+₹45.00 (+0.41%)

DalalBaazaar Score

68 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with both sales and profits growing well. Short-term liquidity is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:10 pm

Constructive picture on fundamentals. Profitability, leverage and growth metrics are broadly healthy on this snapshot. That said, valuation should still be checked against direct sector peers (not just the generic P/E bands used here) before treating this as a buy signal.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

UltraTech Cement Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of building materials in India and internationally.

IndustryBuilding Materials

SectorBasic Materials

Employees28,399

Annual revenue₹87,384 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹87,384 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹20 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 28,399 employees supports ₹3.08 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin19.8%

Net margin9.3%

Revenue / employee₹3.08 Cr

Who are its competitors?

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

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%

DALMIA BHARAT LIMITEDP/E 33.4x · ROE 5.2%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 11.8% 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.

ROCE11.8%

ROE10.7%

Peer median ROE7.0%

What is the outlook?

33 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 13.8% and earnings to grow about 26.4% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+13.8%

Est. earnings growth+26.4%

Analysts33

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +40% while net margin moved +15% 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+40%

Margin effect+15%

DalalBaazaar Score

68/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

• ROE of 10.7% is moderate

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

66/ 100

Good

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

37.6x

3Y Median

52.4x

40 monthly readings · mean 52.2x · range 39.3x–67.7x

Sector Median

34.1x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 28% below its 3y median of 52.4x. 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 34.1x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

52.4x median over 40 months · -28%

vs. sector peers

Fair

34.1x median of 4 peers · +10%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

37.6x

P/B

4.19x

EV/EBITDA

19.9x

PEG

2.18

Dividend Yield

2.20%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 17.5% to 19.8% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 97% over 3 years.
Valuation below its historical average
At 37.6x the stock trades 28% below its own median of 52.4x.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.29x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 115% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.
Short-term liquidity is tight
Current ratio of 0.75 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 115% over 3 years, from ₹11,058 Cr to ₹23,755 Cr.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.75 — 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 17.5% to 19.8%. 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 28% 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.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹5,638 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.
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✓ 11.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was 15.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 18%✓ 19.8%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹5,638 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 9%✓ 11.8%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

7 good · 4 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹3.21 L Cr

Large Cap

Large, widely-covered business — typically the steadiest of the bands

P/E (Trailing)

37.6x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

4.19x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹290.12

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

10.7%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

11.8%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.29x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

15.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

16.8%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

2.20%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹5,638 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹10,907

P/E (Forward)

25.7x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

15.5%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

9.3%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.75

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.49

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

21%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

10859.6 / 11208.0

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

44.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹62,338 Cr	₹69,810 Cr	₹74,936 Cr	₹87,384 Cr	+11.9%
EBITDA	₹10,936 Cr	₹13,237 Cr	₹12,824 Cr	₹17,291 Cr	+16.5%
EBITDA Margin	17.5%	19.0%	17.1%	19.8%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹5,064 Cr	₹7,005 Cr	₹6,039 Cr	₹8,166 Cr	+17.3%
EPS	₹175.54	₹242.87	₹205.13	₹277.45	+16.5%
ROE	9.3%	11.6%	8.5%	10.7%	—
ROCE	12.0%	14.0%	9.0%	11.8%	—
Total Debt	₹11,058 Cr	₹11,403 Cr	₹24,102 Cr	₹23,755 Cr	+29.0%
Free Cash Flow	₹2,868 Cr	₹1,892 Cr	₹1,544 Cr	₹5,638 Cr	+25.3%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 11.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 16.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 17.5% to 19.8% over 3 years (+2.2 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 17.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 16.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 9.3% to 10.7% over 3 years (+1.3 pts).

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 11.8% over 3 years.

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 29.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 25.3% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹1.41 L Cr

Total Liabilities

₹60,664 Cr

Total Debt

₹23,755 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹354 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹15,316 Cr

Capex

-₹9,678 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

22.5%

Insider Holding

62.0%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

19 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹240

Ex-Dividend Date

30 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

33 Buy · 2 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹13,866.46

+27.1% vs CMP

Target Range

₹8,900 – ₹15,330

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
GRASIM INDUSTRIES LTD	34.8x	5.5%
AMBUJA CEMENTS LTD	20.4x	7.4%
SHREE CEMENT LIMITED	49.7x	7.0%
DALMIA BHARAT LIMITED	33.4x	5.2%

Recent News

2 positive2 mixed2 general

UltraTech Cement shares rise 2% post Q1; analysts see up to 14% upside

Business Standard, 21 JulPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

UltraTech Cement stock: Nuvama raises target to INR 15,209. UltraTech Cement stock at INR 10,907.00

ad-hoc-news.de, 16 OctAnalyst view

🟢Potentially positiveAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing the business.

UltraTech Cement shareholders approve Vivek Agrawal re-appointment with 99% votes

scanx.trade, 12 Oct

UltraTech Cement stock falls over 2% after promoter entity likely sells 0.8% equity stake in block deal

Moneycontrol.com, 13 Aug

UltraTech Cement Limited (NSE:ULTRACEMCO) Looks Interesting, And It's About To Pay A Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 26 JulCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

UltraTech Cement Share Price Fall 2.97% to Close at ₹12,664 Amid Broad Sector Weakness

HDFC Sky, 19 FebPrice 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

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate12/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong13.1/20

🟢GrowthStrong16.1/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.3/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.1/15

🟢RiskLow8.5/10

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 9% a year11.9% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 18%19.8%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹5,638 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.4x
✓ROCE stays above 9%11.8%