JSW Cement Ltd. has retained a 'buy' rating from Jefferies and Citi even as operational profitability remained weak in the first quarter of financial year 2027.
Notably, Citi has lowered its price target to Rs 160 from Rs 165, while Jefferies kept the TP same at Rs 150 as it sees sequentially improving Ebitda per tonne growth.
The drag in EBITDA in Q1 came on the back of steep losses at the new Nagaur plant and weaker Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (ggbs) mix, according to Jefferies.
At the same time, Citi pointed to high marketing costs resulting in a moderation in Ebitda/T growth to Rs 785, compared to Rs 915 in the preceding quarter and Rs 975 in the year-ago period.
Some key positives for the company include management's confidence in the achieving EBITDA breakeven by Sep-26 as the Nagaur plant utilisation ramps up rapidly, according to Jefferies.
Overall volumes grew 15% year-on-year, led by 26% cement growth. The volume growth targets for FY27 remain intact, as per Citi, who sees market share gains for JSW Cement and cost improvements to aid earnings.
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JSW Cement Q1 FY27
JSW Cement reported a net consolidated profit of Rs 161 crore against a loss of Rs 1,356 crore a year ago. The sharp turnaround, however, came with a profitability trade-off.
Consolidated revenue rose 21.6% year-on-year to Rs 1,896 crore, while the Ebitda declined 7.5% to Rs 299 crore. Consequently, the Ebitda margin narrowed to 15.7% from 20.7%, according to an exchange filing last Thursday.
Standalone revenue from operations increased to Rs 1,737.89 crore from Rs 1,445.22 crore a year earlier. Yet power and fuel costs rose to Rs 257.33 crore, while freight and handling expenses stood at Rs 395.57 crore. Finance costs were Rs 80.14 crore.
JSW Cement Share Price History
The shares have risen 9.4% year-to-date, but fallen 11% in the last 12 months.
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