Star Cement Q1 FY27: Revenue Rs 943 Cr, PAT Rs 74 Cr, margins compress YoY

Star Cement Ltd has reported a muted first quarter for FY27, with modest top-line growth but weaker profitability.

Key financials – Q1 FY27 vs Q1 FY26
(Consolidated, as per investor presentation)

• Revenue from sale of cement and clinker: Rs 943 crore vs Rs 912 crore, up 3% YoY (page 7 & financial table on page 9).
• Other revenue: Rs 8 crore vs Rs 2 crore, up 358% YoY (page 9).
• Total EBITDA: Rs 203 crore vs Rs 230 crore, down 12% YoY (page 7 & page 9).
• Profit Before Tax (PBT): Rs 98 crore vs Rs 135 crore, down 28% YoY (page 9).
• Profit After Tax (PAT): Rs 74 crore vs Rs 98 crore, down 25% YoY (page 9).
• Gross cash accruals: Rs 165 crore vs Rs 183 crore, down 10% YoY (page 9).

The company notes in a footnote that subsidy decreased by Rs 39 crore YoY due to the reduction of GST rate on cement and a change in the reimbursement mechanism (page 9), which weighed on reported revenue and profitability.

Volumes and per-tonne metrics

• Cement and clinker sales volume: 13.54 lakh tonnes vs 12.96 lakh tonnes, up 4% YoY (page 7 & page 9).
• The chart on page 7 shows Q1 FY27 sales volume of 13.54 lakh tonnes compared with 12.96 lakh tonnes in Q1 FY26 and 17.33 lakh tonnes in Q4 FY26.
• EBITDA per tonne (cement & clinker): Rs 1,497/ton vs Rs 1,774/ton, down 16% YoY (page 9).
• PBT per tonne: Rs 720/ton vs Rs 1,039/ton, down 31% YoY (page 9).
• PAT per tonne: Rs 546/ton vs Rs 757/ton, down 28% YoY (page 9).

Operating environment and management commentary

On page 7, the company characterises Q1 FY27 as "a tepid quarter" impacted by:

• Liquidity constraints from delayed Central Government fund releases.
• Temporary demand disruptions due to elections in West Bengal and Assam.
• The ongoing West Asia crisis.

Sales volume for the quarter includes clinker sales of 52 thousand tonnes (page 7).

Sales mix and pricing

The Sales Performance Overview on page 10 highlights:

• Cement sales volume in Q1 FY27 grew 7% YoY; North-East (NE) sales were flat, while Rest of East (ROE) sales grew 22%.
• Cement sales realizations increased 1.2% YoY and 1.3% QoQ in Q1 FY27.
• Premium products formed 15.9% of trade sales in Q1 FY27, up from 12.2% in Q1 FY26 and 15.1% in Q4 FY26 (pages 8 and 10).
• Trade vs non-trade mix: 80% trade, 20% non-trade (page 10).
• Geographic mix: 67% NE, 33% OSNE (outside North-East) (page 10).
• Product mix: 85% PPC, 15% OPC (page 10).
• Logistics: 88% road, 12% rail (page 10).

On page 8, the company also notes:

• Market share in West Bengal (Star operating area) increased from 19.4% to 22.0%, despite elections.
• Intense protests and riots in Manipur negatively impacted sales in that region.

Costs and logistics

• Logistics cost per tonne (cement) rose from Rs 1,234/ton in Q1 FY26 to Rs 1,280/ton in Q1 FY27 (chart on page 11).
• Lead distance reduced slightly from 220 km to 210 km YoY (page 11).
• Rail coefficient increased from 5.6% to 12.0% between Q1 FY26 and Q1 FY27, though it was higher at 17.8% in Q4 FY26 (page 11).
• The company notes that Q1 FY27 was impacted by increased diesel prices (page 11).

On the Power & Fuel slide (page 12):

• Power & fuel cost per tonne increased from Rs 1,157/ton in Q1 FY26 to Rs 1,167/ton in Q1 FY27.
• Fuel cost (Rs/NCV) moved from 1.50 in Q1 FY26 to 1.55 in Q1 FY27.
• Green energy share was 29% in Q1 FY26 and 26% in Q1 FY27.
• WHRS contribution was 23% in Q1 FY26 and 25% in Q1 FY27.
• Management attributes high fuel costs to lower sourcing from FSA and increased reliance on coal from Nagaland/others and spot contracts (page 12).

Capacity and expansion roadmap

The capacity roadmap on page 14 shows:

• Current clinker capacity at 6.1 MTPA (all in North-East) rising to 9.4 MTPA by FY29 with a 3.3 MTPA clinker unit planned at Nimbol, Rajasthan.
• Cement capacity at 9.7 MTPA in FY26, planned to reach 14.7 MTPA by FY29, including a 2.0 MTPA grinding unit at Jhajjar, Haryana.

Planned capex outlay for North India projects totals Rs 3,080 crore (page 15):

• Nimbol IU, Rajasthan: 3.3 MTPA clinker, 3.0 MTPA cement, capex Rs 2,500 crore, with planned cash outflow of Rs 460 crore in FY27, Rs 1,550 crore in FY28 and Rs 490 crore in FY29.
• Jhajjar GU, Haryana: 2.0 MTPA cement, capex Rs 580 crore, with Rs 100 crore in FY27, Rs 360 crore in FY28 and Rs 120 crore in FY29.

The company states it is planning to fund future expansion through internal accruals and debt financing, targeting to remain below Net debt/EBITDA of 2x (page 15).

ESG and sustainability

On page 18, Star Cement outlines ESG targets, including:

• Green energy share of 60% by FY28 (Q1 FY27 level: ~26%).
• Thermal Substitution Rate (TSR) target of 20% by FY27.
• Achieving 2x water positive status by FY28 (currently 1.60x).
• Increasing women to 12% of permanent workforce by FY27 (currently ~11% as of June 2026).