Earnings call transcript: ACC Ltd Q1 2025 sees record sales and growth

ACC Ltd reported its highest-ever quarterly sales volume and significant revenue growth for Q1 2025, driven by strong demand and strategic innovations. According to InvestingPro analysis, the company maintains FAIR financial health with an overall score of 2.01, supported by strong profit metrics. Despite a slight dip in stock price, the company remains optimistic about future growth, with ambitious expansion and sustainability targets. InvestingPro data reveals the company has maintained dividend payments for 25 consecutive years, demonstrating consistent shareholder returns.

Key Takeaways

• Record sales volume of 18.4 million tonnes, a 20% increase year-over-year.
• Revenue surged 23% to INR 10,289 crore.
• EBITDA margin improved to 19.1%, up 3.8 percentage points.
• Market share increased to 15.5%, with premium product sales up 43%.
• Stock price decreased by 0.41% despite strong financial performance.

Company Performance

ACC Ltd demonstrated robust performance in Q1 2025, achieving a record sales volume of 18.4 million tonnes, marking a 20% increase compared to the previous year. This growth was supported by a 4% rise in cement demand, primarily fueled by government infrastructure projects. The company’s revenue exceeded INR 10,000 crore, reflecting a 23% year-over-year increase. With impressive gross profit margins and a healthy current ratio of 1.59, ACC’s strategic innovations and market positioning have strengthened its competitive edge, as evidenced by a 2% increase in market share to 15.5%. For deeper insights into ACC’s financial health and growth potential, InvestingPro offers comprehensive analysis with 8 additional exclusive tips.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: INR 10,289 crore, up 23% year-over-year.
• EBITDA: INR 1,961 crore, the highest quarterly performance.
• EBITDA per metric ton: INR 1,069, up 28% year-over-year.
• EBITDA margin: 19.1%, a 3.8 percentage point increase.
• PAT: INR 970 crore, a 24% increase year-over-year.

Market Reaction

Despite ACC’s impressive financial performance, the stock price experienced a minor decline of 0.41%, closing at INR 1,862.5. Trading at a P/E ratio of 27.65 and showing remarkably low price volatility with a beta of -0.11, the stock currently sits near its 52-week low. This movement contrasts with the company’s robust earnings and could reflect broader market trends or investor caution. The stock’s Altman Z-Score of 5.99 indicates strong financial stability, suggesting potential value opportunity. Discover more detailed valuation insights and comprehensive analysis in ACC’s Pro Research Report, available exclusively on InvestingPro.

Outlook & Guidance

ACC Ltd has set ambitious targets for the coming years, aiming to increase its cement capacity to 118 million tonnes by FY26 and 140 million tonnes by FY28. The company is also focused on sustainability, planning to raise its green power share to 60% by FY28. These initiatives are expected to enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs, with a target EBITDA of INR 1,500 per metric ton by 2028.

Executive Commentary

CEO Vinod Baheti emphasized the company’s strategic direction, stating, "We have reimagined business fundamentals." He highlighted the strength of ACC’s channel network and reliable assets, along with a commitment to sustainability as a core operating principle.

Risks and Challenges

• Supply Chain Disruptions: Potential disruptions could impact production and delivery schedules.
• Market Competition: Increasing competition may pressure margins and market share.
• Regulatory Changes: New regulations could affect operational costs and compliance requirements.
• Economic Slowdown: A broader economic downturn could dampen demand for construction materials.
• Environmental Concerns: Meeting sustainability targets may require significant investment.

ACC Ltd’s Q1 2025 performance underscores its strong market position and growth potential, with strategic initiatives poised to drive future success.

Full transcript - ACC Ltd (ACC) Q1 2026:

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the Ambuja Cements Limited Q1 FY26 Investor Call hosted by Prabhudas Lilladher Pvt. Ltd. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal an operator by pressing star and then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Satyam Kesarwani. Thank you. Over to you, sir.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you, Nidhi. Good evening and a very warm welcome to everybody. On behalf of PL Capital, I am pleased to welcome you all to the earnings call of ACC for the first quarter of financial year 2026. We are very happy to have the management with us today for the Q and A session with the investment community. The management is represented by Mr. Vinod Baheti, CEO ACC, Mr. Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, Mr. Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment. We will begin with the opening remarks from the management, followed by an interactive Q and A session. With this, I hand over the call to Mr. Deepak Balwani. Over to you, sir. Thank you.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: On behalf of ACC, I am.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Pleased to welcome all participants to our.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Earnings call for the first quarter of FY 2026.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Ambuja Cements Limited is the 9th largest building.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Material solution company globally and part of the diversified Adani portfolio.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: ACC is one of the four large scale cement companies globally and the only one in India to have its science based net zero and near.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Term targets validated by the SBTi.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Before we start, please note this.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Call may include forward-looking statements based.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: On our current beliefs and expectations.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: These are not guarantees of future performance and may involve unforeseen risk and uncertainty.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: We are pleased to have with us.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: On the call Mr. Vinod Baheti, Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Rakesh Tiwari, Chief Financial Officer. Now I invite Mr. Baheti to provide his valuable insights on the quarterly performance. Thank you, Deepak. Good evening and a warm welcome to all of you joining us for the first quarter FY26 earnings call. Ambuja Cements started this fiscal year on a high note. Our momentum is built on strong value focus, robust volume growth, price improvement, deeper channel engagement, premium product sales improvement, adjusted supply chain, stronger brand pull, market access, and smart cost efficiencies amplified by seamless integration of Orient Cement, which we acquired in April 2025. We have reimagined business fundamentals. This has helped us achieve the highest revenue in a quarter, highest quarterly EBITDA, and improve our market share by 2%.

Our channel network is vibrant, our assets are reliable, our efficiencies have improved, and our EBITDA gains are noteworthy. This sets a bold tone for the year ahead as we scale with purpose and precision. We are up on our demand estimates by 1% from 6 to 7% before to now 7 to 8%. Our consolidated financial performance highlights for the quarter are as under: highest ever sales volume of 18.4 million tonnes, up 20% YoY, with market share up 2% to 15.5%. Revenue crossed the INR 10,000 crore mark at INR 10,289 crore, up 23% YoY, with price gain of 4% supported by higher share of premium products as a percentage of trade sales, which is now at 33%, up by 43% YoY. Cost has improved by INR 119 per metric ton YoY. This has also supported in achieving the highest quarterly EBITDA at INR 1,961 crore.

EBITDA per metric ton of cement at INR 1,069, up 28% YoY, and EBITDA margin stood at 19.1%, up 3.8%, and we have a blueprint to achieve our targeted EBITDA of INR 1,500 per metric ton by 2028. PAT we have achieved at INR 970 crore, up 24% YoY, earning per share at 3.20, up 22% YoY, and net worth stood at INR 66,436 crore, and we continue to remain debt free. Our rating remains highest at CRISIL, AAA stable and A1 ratings. In the best interest of time, I am not going to discuss the standalone financial performance of the listed companies separately as they are available on the stock exchanges. The merger of Adani Cementation Industries Limited has received all the statutory approvals for SANGE and Penna. We have received approval from both the exchanges, BSE and NSE, and further process of completion is ongoing.

We continue to make decisive strides in operational excellence in the quarter. Some of them are as, and we are proud to be the lead cement supplier for the world’s highest single-arch Chenab Railway bridge, which speaks volumes of our product quality and trust. For the fourth year in a row, TRA Research has recognized us as the most trusted cement brand. This brand equity is also immensely supporting in terms of volume improvement and price improvements. Our privileged exclusive partnership with CREDAI has gone very well. Continuing this, we have launched Nirma Not Sav program along with CREDAI, wherein the first event took place in Ahmedabad, and this will be hosted in almost 20+ cities going forward in this financial year. Our supply chain is becoming smarter, leaner, and agile with AI-enabled technology. We are proud to be the first in the industry to adopt DigiPin.

We commissioned 5 million tonnes of grinding capacity over the last three months and target an additional 13 million tonnes this financial year. We are getting younger with new assets, digitally smart platform, and latest quote of few future young leaders building a culture of continuous innovation and excellence. Digitalization initiatives continue to be a focused area leveraging the business growth with strong focus on EBITDA maximization, AI-driven advanced business and cost optimizer tools. End-to-end seamless applications of channel partners and the plants of future concept is progressing very well on growth and journey expansion. Our total cement capacity currently stands at 104.5 million tonnes.

In our larger aim of achieving 140 million tonnes by FY28, we are well poised to achieve 118 million tonnes by end of FY26, powered by our strategic brownfield expansions across various sites including Bhattapara, Salai, Banwa, Dahej, Marwar, Kalamboli, Krishnapatnam, Batinda, Jodhpur, and Varisali Ganj. Our disciplined capex management is ensuring these timelines are met efficiently, enabling us to deliver both scale and profitability on the cost leadership. Our targeted cost reduction journey with the planned initiatives primarily envisages reduction in power and fuel cost, logistics cost, and raw materials cost optimization. We have one of the lowest manpower costs at INR 223 per metric tonne amongst the peers in the industry. Green power share uptick with every passing quarter, it improved by 9.7% to 28.1%, and it’s targeted to reach 60% by FY28.

This will reduce the existing power cost, which is around INR 5.9 per unit, to almost INR 4.5 per unit by FY28. The power consumption per metric ton of cement also is expected to improve by at least 5 units based on the efficiency of the new assets and the efficiency improvement of the existing assets. Coal cost has improved from INR 1.73 to INR 1.59 per 1,000 Kcal and is expected to sustain near these levels. Importantly, the heat consumption will improve by at least 35 to 40 kilocalories per kg of clinker for the various initiatives outlined, including the mix of the new kilns. Primary lead distance reduced by 8 km this quarter at 269 km and is expected to further reduce by almost 75 km when we achieve 140 million tons by FY28.

This will help to reduce the logistics cost by almost INR 150 per metric ton, also supported by a higher component of rail and sea logistics. Currently, our cost is almost around, say, INR 3.25 per ton per km. On the ESG leadership, sustainability remains our strategic operating system as we are India’s only and globally the fourth large-scale cement company to have our science-based net zero and near-term targets validated by SBTi. We have commissioned 473 megawatt of renewable energy out of 1,000 megawatt, achieving almost 28%. As I mentioned earlier, we want to achieve 60% by FY28. Our green power share has risen consistently and improved by 9.7% this quarter. We remain an industry leader, achieving 12 times water positivity, 11 times plastic negativity, exemplifying responsible stewardship.

We continue active global collaborations with WEF, GC, CA, UNGC, and AFID, reinforcing our commitment to setting and achieving ambitious environmental goals. On the community and social impact, we continue to positively impact our community through engagement initiatives in education, healthcare, livelihoods, and infrastructure. We are upscaling our communities through robotic labs, drone labs, rural KPOs, youth skilling, women empowerment, creating a blueprint for our inclusive growth, making the new era of a holistic education. In the presence of our board members, we inaugurated a new building of DAV, HEC Public School Kalpashila, and a Heritage Wing at our Kaimur plant. Through the Adani Vidyadhan Initiative, our leadership continues to inspire and shape the future of more than 10,000 students across the Adani Vidya Mandir Chedi campus institutions at our plants. In Q1 FY26 we accelerated our efforts to build recognized and purpose-driven partnerships across our network, CEO says Samad.

A direct engagement platform with channel partners and contractors has deepened trust through open dialogue, recognition, and shared growth. These efforts have sparked a strong homecoming of more than 500 dealers, strengthening our distribution network and reaffirming the mutual confidence. Adani Certified Technology Act was implemented at more than 21,000 customer sites, enhancing the construction, durability, and technical superiority, making a significant milestone in scalable impact and customer trust. With more than 325 skill-building workshops conducted, we have empowered almost 9,000 plus contractors, creating ripple effects in quality, safety, and upskilling across the regions. CEO Club, a first-of-its-kind recognition platform in the industry, now anchors top-performing channel partners and contractors into a unified community. Through certified training, plant visits, safety gear distribution, and family-focused experiences, we are building a family of builders aligned with our vision. Dhan Varsha Grahel Axmi Sabagya Awards embodied emotional intelligence in action.

This hybrid celebration brought together over 50,000 plus families of our dealers, merging performance with purpose and laying foundation for enduring relationships beyond the balance sheet. Coincidentally, today also we have a program which is for our influencers, which we will see more than 25,000 influencers online and offline coming together to celebrate a program similar to Dhan Varsha. On the industry outlook, cement demand grew by almost 4% YoY in the first quarter FY26, driven by Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana, Bharat Mala, Sagar Mala, and other infra projects, and we remain bullish for this financial year. We are upping our demand estimate by 1% from earlier 6 to 7% to now 7 to 8%. I now invite our CFO Rakesh to detail our financials in detail further. Thank you.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you, Vinod, for giving.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Such a strategic and comprehensive outline for ACC.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: It was really great.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. It’s a pleasure to connect with you all at this pivotal junction in our growth journey. Over the last few quarters we have consistently articulated our sharp focus on four key pillars: growth, cost leadership, ESG, and stakeholder value creation. I’m pleased to share that Q1 financial year 2026 has reinforced our conviction and momentum across all these dimensions. Our cement capacity has now reached 105.4 MTPA following the successful commissioning of Sankrail and Chindri brownfield grinding unit. We remain firmly on track to scale up to 118 MTPA by March 2026 and 240 MTPA by financial year 2028. Our inorganic growth strategy is progressing seamlessly. Sanghi, ASEAN, Tuticorin, Pinna, and more recently Orient, which we have successfully integrated. The results were out a few days back, accelerating our market presence.

All across the geographies, integrating synergies are being realized ahead of schedules, validating our disciplined M&A playbook. Alongside M&A, our greenfield and brownfield projects are designed with an emphasis on long-term competitiveness, and roughly close to 40% of our capacity now falls.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Under new generation assets that are optimized.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: For capital efficiency, lower OPEX cost, increased use of renewable energy, and improved logistics including rail infrastructure. In this quarter of 2026, we commissioned 57.7 megawatt of wind energy, taking our total renewable power to 473 megawatt. Additionally, our WHRS capacity stands at 228 megawatt. Together, our green energy is contributing close to 28.1%. Underscoring our position as a sustainable leader in India, we are also laying a strong digital foundation for the future. Our end-to-end digitization of the value chain from query to learning is yielding measurable operational benefits and improving EBITDA delivery. Our Siemens Network Operating Center is live at our headquarters, growing in scope, enabling predictive analysis, real-time visibility, and agile decision making. This is a transformative journey, and I’m proud that ACC is at the forefront of making this traditional industry younger.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Smarter and more efficient.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: We continue to maintain a fortress balance sheet. As of Q1 FY26, our net worth stands at INR 66,500 crore, up from INR 63,811 crore in March 2025. We still are debt free with AAA ratings, giving us a lot of headroom to fuel growth and return value to the shareholders. To conclude, ACC is uniquely positioned at the intersections of capacity growth, margin expansion, digital evolution, and ESG leadership. As the industry enters an exciting new phase, we are confident that our strategy and execution will drive superior stakeholder returns in the quarter and years ahead. With that, I now hand over back to Deepak.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, Nidhi, we can open the call for Q&A.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you very much. We’ll now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and 1 on their touch-tone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and 2. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question is from the line of Rahul Gupta from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Hi.

Thank you for taking my question. My first question is if we look at on a sequential basis, there is a sudden increase in power and fuel, logistics, and other op ex, even adjusted for volumes. Can you please help us understand in detail what’s happening over here? Thank you. That’s my first question.

I’m presuming you are referring to consolidated finances, right?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yes.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Okay, just a thing. If you actually refer to Rahul, I’m not sure which line items you are referring to because there is an overall reduction in terms of the power and fuel and raw material on a YoY basis. If you go to slide number 12 of the investor presentation, I’m—

Looking at slide 19, I’m more concerned about quarter on quarter change. Any color on that will be very helpful.

Just a second, let me go through slide 19 of the investor deck. Yes, that’s right. Let me pull the particular slide.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Rahul.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: If you refer to slide 19, there is a reduction in all the other items. The only point which is the other expense is 12%, otherwise there is reduction in all the other items. Rahul.

Not really. If you look at power and fuel, it has moved from INR 1,263 to INR 1,367.

Freight and forwarding. Okay, you’re comparing Q1Q while I was referring to YoY. In terms of Q1Q also, Rahul, for example, when it was 1,260 for the last quarter and with, for example, when you have this acquired asset, especially when you have now Orient, also there will be some disruption on the overall cost compared to, say, March. In March, for example, you didn’t have Orient and now you have, say, Orient. Second is if you also notice.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: The.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Fuel cost in fact has come down from 1.74 to 1.57. Actually, the second element of cost, which is the power cost, over there I have highlighted that we have a higher as of now consumption of the power units and some of these again acquired assets have that. There is a good opportunity for us to reduce by at least five units minimum in coming quarters in terms of the power consumption. Both this power and fuel basically will come back to the sequential numbers very soon. In terms of the fuel, for example, we have demonstrated a star production by almost 20 basis points this quarter compared to last quarter. Prospectively also, I’m sustaining myself at those levels. This is like one time when you have a quarter when you have an acquired asset. Otherwise, you will have quite sustainable numbers on this front.

Coming to the other expenses, where for example my overall branding and sales and promotion expenses, we actually are investing into our marketing and brand expenses and our supply chain network, and you will see and you have seen some uptick over there. On top of it, the Orient asset also, for example, when we have acquired, it has also actually added to my overall other expenses. This quarter you will have to look at with the color of Orient being acquired and consolidated as compared to the previous quarter. On a YoY basis, you will see all of them are on a really healthy trend even with Orient acquisition. No, I understand.

Thank you for the color that this is because of Orient acquisition. That’s exactly why I want to understand this. What would be this number without Orient? Because, see, Orient could not be that thick in the overall console numbers perspective.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Right.

Any color from that perspective would be very helpful. Second, by when should we expect this number to normalize to pre-Orient acquisition levels? Thank you. These are my questions.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, no, I think coming this quarter itself you will see a sharp improvement on that. In terms of my outline also when I said that now the assets have started generating, giving us good results. For example, my power costing with the renewables push this quarter has come down by 80 basis points per unit. Right. This quarter itself you will see a good level of, say, improvement in terms of sequential quarter. That is how, for example, when we have this acquisition and when we have this integration, it will take you a couple of months here and there. If you look at the volume part, that is very interesting, and all of my, for example, therefore these acquired assets have done very well in terms of the volume part.

Integration has gone very well in terms of the revenue, and therefore you have seen a 20% jump on the volume part. So far as the costs are concerned, like this quarter itself, you will see a good level of stabilizing there. Got it.

Just for the bookkeeping, what would be volumes out of Orient business this quarter?

No, I would refrain from doing that because we, for example, as we have highlighted, overall 18.4 million tons because Orient and all these are part of the MSAs. Therefore, per se, Orient doesn’t have its own direct sales because we have migrated from Orient brand to now Ambuja and ACC. Happy to say that these assets, for example, are operating at very healthy levels at Clinker and Cement both. Therefore, on an overall basis, we have a good healthy utilization of the cement capacity.

Great, thank you so much. Just one final question. On an unadjusted basis, your volume grew by 20% year on year. Now when you say that industry grew by 4%, where would ACC Consol compared to that 4% for the industry?

ACC concern is what we have said, 20% overall improvement.

Yeah, but that’s unadjusted, right? I mean, for fair comparison, when industry.

Grew by 4%. If I adjust and if I only consider Ambuja and ACC, the earthwell capacity comes to almost 13%.

Got it. Thank you so much. This is very helpful.

Thank you.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, please limit to two questions for participants and rejoin the queue for the follow-up question. The next question is from the line of Atisha Irathi from J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, hi. Thank you for the opportunity. I just had one question. This is pertaining to slide 18 of the deck. I noticed that the sales volume on a consolidated basis at 18.4 is 18.2 for the last quarter in the deck. If I look at the last quarter’s deck, the number was at 18.7 and the EBITDA, the total EBITDA, hasn’t changed. I’m just trying to understand how do I, how should I reconcile the two numbers?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, hi. Thanks. What we have done because so far CLC, which is like clinker plus cement, both were considered, but we are not in the business of selling clinker. We are more in the business of cement, and therefore, like all the other competitors, we also now will move into reporting in terms of factor of cement. For example, what we have done is also for the March 18.2 is a cement sale. The difference between cement and clinker, that 0.5, primarily is actually for the CLC factor, and therefore 18.4, when I’m saying, is purely a cement sale. There is no clinker factor here. That’s how the whole calculation is.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Understood. Thank you so much.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you. That is how all the other industry players, what I understand, they do it, and that’s how we have also recalibrated and put it on basis of the cement volumes, and therefore EBITDA and everything as a factor of cement.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Understood. Thank you so much.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Harsh Mittal from MK Global. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you for the opportunity. Good evening. Firstly, congratulations to the management for a great set of numbers. Sir, my question was pertaining towards the earlier participant’s concern on the volume front. Continuing with his statement, if I just exclude Orient’s and ACC cement volume in this quarter, we are standing at around 11.5% of volume growth YoY. Is it a fair set of assumptions, sir? No, no, no.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Absolutely not.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Absolutely not.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: In fact, as I said, if I adjust, for example, the acquired assets, I am sitting on still a very good healthy volume growth of 13%. What would be the volume for?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Panna Cement this quarter, if you can just, you can share that number.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: For example, we are at 18.4 million tons for a capacity which has now gone up to 105, and you can safely assume that the average capacity would have been almost 95. Therefore, on an overall capacity utilization, I am around 77 to 78%.

Yeah.

Please allow me to a larger volume instead of going with. Because all of these are companies under the MSAs, it will be inappropriate to give you for individual unlisted company, it will be better to speak on a console volume and a console capacity. I can give you this indication, this number, that around 78% is the capacity utilization.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sure, sir. That was my question. Thank you. Thank you.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, this will enter you now. You can do your math actually. Yes.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Amit Murarka from Axis Capital. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, thanks for the opportunity. The first question is on capacities. I see that the timelines are no longer indicated in the presentation as to what is the commissioning for each of.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Those capacities which you were giving earlier.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: What is the updated timeline now, if you could shed some light on that?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Okay. I mean, perhaps I think because we are actually hitting now, so out of say earlier we used to indicate almost like 18 million tons out of which 5 has already been achieved. 13 is also in fairly advanced stages of each passing month. I’m going to announce the commissioning, so I can tell you that this quarter you will see some of these capacities. For example, by December, most of my capacities will be there, including Salai Banwa, the Penna Jodhpur, the Bhattapara, and a couple of more. By March, whatever we have indicated here is what, for example, we are going to achieve. 118 million by fiscal year FY26 is there to be achieved.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sure, sure, got it.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: It’s facing some delays.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: What I understand, because I remember right, what earlier indicated March 25 as commissioning. Why is it getting delayed? I mean, frankly, the concern is more.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: I want to understand this.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: The Chinese equipment is what these plants are based on. We have been reading that Chinese engineers are not being allowed into the country.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Is it something to do with that?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Is there any other issue over here?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: No, not like, in fact we already have this, this particular company. Who is the vendor which you are referring to already like a vendor to us for a couple of our other assets. We don’t see any issue on that. This March, what you are indicating is something which is our management target, and as far as the outline timing is concerned, we are well on that. I don’t see any issues over there. To rescue any anxiety, no concerns on the vendor, no concerns on the execution and completion of course projects of this scale. For example, when you have a brownfield expansion, a couple of months here and there because you are operating, you are actually executing in an established asset, which also should not be derailed in any form and manner. These are very nominal months, a couple of months here and there.

I don’t see any issue or any anxiety over there.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: No, thanks for clarifying, that’s very comforting. Also, you could provide like the cash.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Position at the end of June.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Amit, we can pick up from where we left, and I think March end was almost INR 10,250 crore if I remember. From there, for example, when I look at the overall cash flow, we are sitting right now closer to INR 3,000 crore. This includes the overall acquisition of, say, Orient, then also my CapEx of almost INR 2,000 crore, which has been for the June quarter, then almost INR 600 crore—INR 550 to be precise—for the dividend, and so on and so forth. Overall, basically right now we are holding INR 3,000 crore of cash and cash equivalent.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sure. Lastly, what was the effective date of podium?

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: To rejoin the queue for the follow-up question.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. Thank you so much.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Naveen Rameshwar Sahadev from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, yeah.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Good evening. Good evening.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Vinodji, Rakeshji, thank you for the opportunity. Two questions, and I think that is similar to what Amit was trying to ask. Is the effective date for Orient 22 April to be merged or consolidated, or will it be 18 June to understand the, like, you know, integration better?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, Naveen, it is the 22nd of April.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Understood, sir. My second question was on the overall, like, you know, cash outflow towards capacity creation. As you mentioned, current cash balance is more like INR 3,000 crore. I just wanted to understand how much do we have to pay for Penna because I believe there was some retention money and, of course, subject to the capacities which were to get commissioned.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: To go to the question is.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: How much money for Penna is likely to be paid? I’m assuming it will happen this year, and when will these Penna capacities, especially the clinker in North, come on board?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Naveen Clinker should be coming to us in, let us say, Q2 itself by the fag end of September. There are a couple of other assets like Krishnapatnam, which will be there, and small capex at Tandoor, so they are all actually going well so far as Penna assets are concerned. When we have factored in the capex program, the balance small payments which are left to be paid will be paid within our overall contractual terms of the SBA. In terms of the progress on the Jodhpur asset, it is absolutely bang on time, progressing well, and personally also I will say it’s a beautiful asset.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Which has come out actually, and this.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Is like.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Only one related, just clarification. Of course, you said Penna is the balance payment is included. Is it safe to assume INR 10,000 crore kind of capex for FY2026 as a number?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: You can consider maybe a couple of thousands. You can actually consider ballpark 1,000 here and there. INR 10,000 is a good amount to assume. I would have considered between say 9 to 10, but 10 is okay and that includes 10, of course.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: All in, INR 9,000 crore kind of an outflow for FY26.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you, sir.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you so much.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rajesh Ravi from HDFC Securities. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Good evening and congrats on good set of numbers.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Firstly, could you share the volume numbers?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: For the full year now, adjusted for the clinker sales. Second, can you share for the two listed subsidiaries, Orient and ACC, what would be the capex in these two companies individually, and what are the capacity enhancements for Orient particularly, you know.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: There were talks of a grinding unit.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: A clinker expansion in Karnataka and a grinding unit in Madhya Pradesh and similarly for ACC.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Any progress on the Wadi Clinker?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Any other asset beyond what we have recently commissioned?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, thanks Rajesh. To first start with your question, your question was about the overall volume.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Console volume, ex-ACC clinker sales for full year.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, as I mentioned, for the full year in terms of the capacity, we are targeting to hit 118 million tons. What is my overall estimated volume? You can broadly consider a current trend of 75% to 78% and extrapolate that.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: That.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: As far as the second question, which is about the capex at Orient, I think right now our priority is to improve the overall efficiency at Orient rather than immediate expansion. Therefore, this financial year it is more about achieving the desired cost numbers and some of the debottlenecking. There is definitely an opportunity for us, as the previous promoters were also doing, in terms of expansion at Chitapur and a bit at Devapur. That is something we will look at in the next financial year. As far as MP is concerned, again, that’s something we will work on, but it’s not an immediate priority. The immediate priority for us right now is the 7 or 8 sites which I mentioned to you and which are strategically well located and integrate very well in our overall plan of 140 million tonnes.

A more detailed plan for Orient in terms of the growth will come out separately. Is that good for you? Okay.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, yeah. As far as ACC is concerned.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: As you know, Ametha was the one which we did, followed by acquisition of Asian, and now Salai Banwa. Right now, it is progressing very well. In the next few months, you will see Salai Banwa up and running. Salai Banwa, as you know, is in, then again for ACC, I’ve been highlighting our focus has been in terms of improving its, again, cost efficiency, its green power. Apart from Salai Banwa, if you also know Sindri, we have expanded when we.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Announced in terms of expansion.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Sindri Salai Banwa Wadi line is also very much in the plan and that is in the drawing boards. I have highlighted before the dismantling of the line one is already been commissioned. Therefore, that is very much in the pipeline but not for this financial year. It will be limited initial groundwork, but it will come in the next financial year. These are like the capex program for ACC, but more importantly is on the efficiency factor because the bridge between the overall EBITDA for ACC versus other peers is what, for example, we will bridge it very fast. As you see, in last many quarters ACC has been catching up on that. Out of this INR 9,000-10,000 crore.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: How much of the capex one can.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Work out in the standalone ACC?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sorry to interrupt, but I’m just completing this follow up.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah. Okay, Nidhi, I will just answer that. Rajesh generally likes you.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Will factor of 7,525 between parent company.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Which is like ACC and HSE, sometimes a 70:30 or 75:25 kind of thing. Okay, great.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: I’ll come back to you, sir. Thank you.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: All the best.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sure, thank you. The next question is from the line of Ritesh Shah from Investec. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Hi sir, thanks for the opportunity. Couple of questions, sir. First is on ACC. There was a significant cost bump on a sequential basis for both raw material as well as other cost. How should one look at it?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Is it by any means tied to a few clinker units that we have?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Actually shut down in South?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Is it because of higher inter-regional?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Trade, higher clinker cost?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: How should we treat it to that? Sometimes, as you know, given the early set of models, Monsoon which started in June, basically what we have also done is in terms of the scheduled maintenances and therefore like Wadi and all, for example, which is ACC, we have actually done that. Therefore, you will find a bump whenever you have scheduled maintenances. You will generally find a bump in the particular quarter, which will get, on an overall year basis, neutralized basically. The benefits of that will come in the subsequent quarters. That was one part.

Again, in terms of the other expenses, I actually mentioned earlier that some of the, especially for ACC, in terms of the settlement cost, the VRs, the employee separation, and also in terms of the brand promotion and sales promotion activities, which will get intensive this year, and lots of investment is being done on the brand equity, on the channel vibrancy. I also put in my initial remarks, and you are already seeing the results of that. In terms of the price improvement, in terms of the overall volume improvement, this will continue. The delta positive impact is coming on the revenue part, while some of these investments will happen in terms of this brand and sales promotion. Yeah, those are basically the trend. Sir, my question is basically we have.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Taken out Wadi I, Bargarh, and Chaibasa.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: How are we substituting that clinker?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: For the East and South for ACC.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, therefore, if you see in the MSA, there is also good movement of clinker between ACC and Ambuja. The high cost clinker which goes off of ACC, almost like if I have to highlight between ACC and Ambuja, this time clinker movement has been almost 0.47 million metric tons. It gets applied, for example. I have, say, Penna assets. Now I have got, say, Orient also. Sometimes when Wadi is down and I have Sittapur for Orient which is available to supply, and so forth. Therefore, logistics-wise, whichever is best suitable is what is being used in terms of the clinker movement and therefore supplies of cement. Don’t worry about that balance. If you look at overall balance of the cement versus clinker, it is well balanced. My second question is 64 million tons of clinker capacity and I have almost 105 million tons of cement capacity.

You can apply the factor and then it is well balanced.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sorry sir, my second question. Hi sir. Am I audible?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yes, please.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah. Sir, during the Marwa day you had indicated that we are looking to simplify our marketing structure. We’ll have like only three layers. Have we already progressed on that? What should we make out of that particular outcome? That’s one, and other quick one is one of our peers has announced commercialization of calcite clay. You did elaborate quite a lot on ESG. Is this particular variable up for us on priority? If not, why so. Thank you.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: No. Ritesh, as you know, like calcined clay or otherwise, if you have fly ash and PPC, I would say that I am sitting on a huge opportunity of fly ash and therefore those who don’t have the opportunities will look around for different types of products. We have a natural advantage and as a group, synergy. Therefore, I would right now focus on that. There is no better substitute to fly ash actually because the whole chemical process of fly ash, which blends with cement, the cement quality and the cement strength is far, far superior and which is well demonstrated in many labs. Also, point number one. Point number two, therefore, the calcined cement and all the specific applications and all are, for example, different to what normally a cement can be. Point number two, what was your second question, Ritesh, on.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: The marketing side, that is more internal.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Ritesh, I think not right to discuss on this forum. Yes, we are simplifying and as I said, we are reimagining the whole structure, the whole plant structure. You will see prospectively a positive impact and result out of it. Exactly that’s not the point to discuss on this forum. Let’s take this offline. We can connect on that. Sir, can I just squeeze in one? In your initial remarks you indicated.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sorry to interrupt, but I request to.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Come back for the follow-up question, please.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sure, sure, sure. Thank you.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, please limit to one question per participant and rejoin the queue for the follow-up question. The next question is from the line of Rashi Chopra from Citigroup. Please go ahead. Thank you. Just had a question on realizations post the quarter. How have the realizations been across different geographies?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Rashi, thank you. I am very upbeat about realization. Although you will definitely, through your channels, get a different impression, especially when we are focusing on solutions-oriented as a cement, and therefore, for example, at least we have the strong brand equity and we are actually able to get the right price, and we have also upped the price of our premium cement. While you would also hear this positive from our side, I think realization is better off only and it will remain better off for the leaders and those who are decisive in terms of providing high quality premium cement and addressing the solutions. With good investment on brand equity, I think it is also seeing a good churn and volume movement. That is my submission overall. You will see different views from different corners of the industry.

I would refrain because sometimes we are now following and bringing a good discipline in terms of adhering to the whole channel network and in terms of pricing and all. That will continue as a trend from our side.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Are prices today better than what you exited in June?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: I won’t say because that is like again I’m seeing June, you have seen a healthy improvement in prices, and I can only say that our focus in terms of continuously addressing to the requirements of the customers is only going to help us and differentiate us better as compared to the industry in terms of prices.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, but.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: I remain positive on demand, and I remain positive on this factor also.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: On the cash that you said INR 3,000 crores, this is on a consolidated basis including Orient Cement.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah. Now, because this call generally we always speak about Consol because companies have their own MSAs and different companies are investing and they share the assets, also MSA always makes sense to discuss Consol.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: On the cash balance, the INR 3,000 crores, possible to split it up between ACC and Orient.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: I would say that as of now I don’t have direct information, but yes, it is broadly between ACC and HSC. You can say 60, 40 or 50, 50. That’s the trend. Sangi and Sangi and Orient and Penna, for example, would not have, barring the working capital, because the cash flows have been used to make them debt free also. Rashi, therefore, the major cash is lying with ACC and then etc. That is, for example, a broad split. Sangi, Penna, and Orient would not be sitting on that otherwise, bare minimum working capital.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jashandeep Chadha from Nomura. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, thanks for the opportunity and congratulations on a good set of numbers, sir. My first question is regarding the cost saving target, you know, which we gave last year of INR 530. I understand there are some consolidation cost and higher fixed cost because of the assets that you.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: We are not able to hear you.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sir, the current participant has been disconnected from the line. Can we move to the next one?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yes, Nidhi, please move to the next one.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: The next question is from the line of Jyoti Gupta from Dharmal Bank. Please go ahead.

Good set of numbers. I just wanted to understand what has been the contribution of South this launching console EBITDA per ton. Since we are expecting that the prices in the South will further strengthen, will that have a significant impact on our EBITDA per ton? The second part is that while we have taken an expert of EBITDA per ton improvement of almost like INR 5.30, FY27, I think this year alone from cost we should be somewhere, I mean price increases commensurate to the overall EBITDA per ton with cost. What is your sense that where should we end this year in terms of overall console ACC as EBITDA per ton?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you, Jyoti. As you know, south is now we have a good large share as part of my overall capacity, almost 26%, whereas west is 23%, which is disclosed on slide number 15 of my investor day. South has been a good contributor for the June quarter. South, you know how it works because of the excess capacity. Therefore, you cannot predict in south generally. I am bullish with respect to demand and therefore I am also positive with respect to prices. I won’t comment about the overall price expectations or the EBITDA expectations, but I can only say that the EBITDA which we have highlighted and given and reported is what the EBITDA we are targeting to sustain and improve from here. Therefore, both the demand and prices, I am positive. Giving specific numbers will not be possible and will also not be appropriate.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Jashandeep Chadha from Nomura. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, hi sir. Am I audible now?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah. Jasindeep.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yes, hi. Sorry for that and congratulations on a good set of numbers. Firstly, I want to ask about the cost saving target that we gave, INR 530 per ton. I understand, in the last few quarters there have been some consolidation costs because of the asset you have acquired. If you want to do an apple to apple comparison from FY24 days, how much of the cost benefits would have come based on the initiatives that you’ve taken and under what major heads will those be? If you can give insight on that, that would be great.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah. You’re right, the journey of 530 continues and if I have to give a broad range, we would have hit almost 35% to 40% of that journey. Let us say closer to INR 200 a ton basically, INR 175 to INR 200. Primarily, let us say power is one of the factors, with the green power for example, and third is the logistics. These are my primary, and of course my raw material cost, which we have sustained with advantage in terms of the long-term agreement on suppliers, which we have on a competitive bid basis with the group company and all. I think raw material we have sustained, and from here onwards I am going to see improvement on raw material, continued improvement on the power and the efficiency of the power also, and also the heat consumption.

Heat consumption we will sustain and improve on the coal cost. These are major factors. Apart from that, logistics cost, with every improvement and increase in my grinding capacity and location, therefore my overall lead distance comes down. We’re also working on a few initiatives on EV and all, which will actually bring down the overall ptpk. These are broad numbers and therefore give me much more high visibility to achieve even for the acquired assets. They will actually complement and help us to move on our INR 530 reduction. I’m quite bullish about that. This quarter, for example, we had to fix some of the issues on the revenue part, done successfully, and we will see a further improvement on that part with a more vibrant channel network and all. Cost remains our forte and focus.

Both will complement each other and hence my overall comfort to sustain and improve the EBITDA from here further is very high.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Understood, sir. Just an extension to this before I ask my second question on a consolidated basis. Does your 530 target still, you know, is there? Because why I ask is because when you gave this target, Orient was not in the picture. Now Orient comes in, and I believe there will be some capex involved to bring it to ACC’s cost structure. Just want to understand, on a consolidated basis, you know, increased capacity—is it still 530 over FY24 days, or the number has changed, the target has changed?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: It continues, so even, for example, when we had given the numbers we had, in which there will be some acquisitions and all, therefore we will adhere to that number.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Understood. My second question is largely, sir, I think I heard you.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: I request you to come back for the follow up question. Thank you. The next question is from the line of Patanjali Srinivasan from Sundaram Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you for the opportunity. I have couple of doubts. I don’t know if I may have missed it, but our other expenses on our presentation, it mentioned 678. There’s a footnote that is excluding new assets and one-time gain. Could you quantify or mention whether these are like startup costs or something because of integration of the new assets?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: What is the difference?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Will it continue or is it a one-time extent?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: You’re referring to the other expenses, which is 678 versus 699 of March and 689 of June. Is that the numbers you are referring to?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, because if I take it on a reported cost basis, it is INR 788. In the presentation, it’s mentioned as INR 678. I think there’s a delta of about INR 110, which is.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: The one time gain which was there in the previous year has actually been put in line with the comparison. Therefore, comparison on YoY basis is what we have done. If you see the footnote also, it excludes the newest and it also excludes the one time gain of the previous year.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Okay, so it will not be recurring.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Would that be easy? Right. Understanding for this, that gain was not recurring. Therefore, it has been. It has. No, no. The new asset cost.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: The new asset cost. Will it want to.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Yeah, that will not be recurring. That will not be recurring, and therefore you will see now considerable improvement on these other expenses.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Okay sir. Just one last question sir. Like between ACC and Ambuja, why do we see such a big difference in profitability? Given that this quarter south prices went up, ACC has better region presence in south and east, but ACC still reported very weak numbers compared to Ambuja.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you. For example, let us say ACC has its own and from beginning if you know. The advantage Ambuja has is with respect to the captive coal mine, while ACC is all a third-party purchase. That is because fuel becomes an important factor in terms of the power cost also because of again the vintage and legacy of ACC. Therefore, the power cost also when I look at it broadly in case of ACC, it is almost INR 6.10 per unit compared to when I look at Ambuja, it is INR 5.30. On an overall basis, it becomes INR 5.90. Some of the efficiency investment which are in process, but Ambuja has a higher WHRS factor, almost 21%, while in case of ACC, the WHRS factor is 14% now. There is a reason.

Therefore, I said for ACC, our primary efforts are to work on the investment and the efficiencies gain on the cost. That will help us to bridge this gap of whatever INR 300, INR 400 a ton and come to four digits sooner for ACC as well. Of course, the brand equity, the brand pull is now started giving us very good results and more so the ACC Gold, that is a blockbuster product in the industry in terms of the premium and therefore more and more focus on that will also help us to further improve the top line and the realization which has happened in fact this quarter also. This is certain, which is like a time bridge. Investments are being done, they are in the plan. Therefore, this journey of cost improvement, when we said it, it has actually a significant improvement of cost journey for ACC.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sir, I see a lot of spend being done for ACC in terms of market.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sorry to interrupt, but I request you.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: To come back for the continuation of the previous question.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Can I continue?

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yes, sir. We see a lot of brand spend, sir, that is being done for ACC, but the pricing gap between ACC and Ambuja is still pretty elevated. Are we positioning the two brands slightly differently in the market, or is there any other factor to it?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: I’m missing out on each of them? Both the brands have this strong brand equity, and both the strength of the brand equity is leveraged very prominently now. There is no per se promoting differently but using their own advantages. In many pockets, ACC has a better price compared to Ambuja for the brand equity, and in many pockets Ambuja has because they have their natural strength. For example, east and south is where ACC has been very dominant from past, and north and west is where Ambuja has been very dominant from past. That continues; in fact, now with the synergy, the blend is actually helping us on an overall basis. Please look at it on an overall basis. Of course, ACC with its brand equity strength is getting the prices benefit.

Therefore, my overall console and also standalone ACC, you will see a good improvement in the price for back.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Sure, sir. Thank you so much.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Sumangal Niwatia from Kotak Securities. Please go ahead.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, thank you, sir. For a change, most of the questions answered. Just one or two left.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: 1.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: On the next phase of expansion, which is 21 million tons, what is our preparedness? If you can give some color as per will it be largely greenfield now given the brownfield phase is in the first phase, and also what are the preferred locations?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Sumangal, good question. Again, the 21 million which will actually from FY 2027-2028. Basically, lots of groundwork. Groundwork in terms of land, in terms of the overall approval of CTOs, environmentals, public hearings, for example, lots of this groundwork has been done, and therefore it will not take more time when we actually start the project execution. Therefore, preparatory civil work, basic civil work, and pre-operating expenses and all. For example, in some of the sites have already started to happen, including appointment of the technical consultants and owners, engineers and so on, so forth. Importantly, in terms of our negotiations with the vendors as well, which is already at a very, very advanced level and positive developments on that front also. That 20 million tons is also well on track and therefore very confident to achieve 140 by end of March 28.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Some color on which regions will be the priority. Is there any mix in the geographical mix we are looking at?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: I think primarily we are like Pan India. If you be more specific than north, you will see a good capacity in center also, you will see a couple of assets. Each already we have commissioned. For example, each I have already seen those additions, a couple of them in weight. You will see actually that will balance it out because right now the center we are at, say, on a world basis, the 8% of maximum capacities. We will see more of this balancing happening across these five regions of the country. It is not per se biased towards any particular.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Understood, understood. For the GPA bid, it would be a strategy in case we went for the non-core assets.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Sorry, I could not follow.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: We are keen to acquire JJPA through the NCAA. What would be a strategy for non-core assets which come along with the cement assets there?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Basically, as you know, Adani Enterprises Limited as a company has actually applied for that, and therefore it would not be fair from my side to comment. Hence, cement and non-cement as a complete pack, it’s all which has actually applied for it. I would refrain from anything further on that.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Okay, thank you, sir, for the clarification and all the best.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. The next question is from the line of Kunal Shah from DAM Capital Squared.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Hi sir, just one question from my end. I just wanted to understand how is.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: the brand integration process progressing in South, especially from Penna’s plant? Any positive or negative surprise there? Specifically, how is ACC’s brand positioning in the trade channel in South?

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Very positive, Suman, very positive. In fact, why Penna? In fact, now Orient also, complete brand penetration has happened and migrated to Ambuja and ACC. Both, for example, Penna and Orient have done very, very well. Dealers have received it very, very well. All the dealers have also got onboarded into Ambuja and ACC platforms. In terms of my overall volume improvement, for example, and when you see, obviously you can do an assessment because when I said when I do the adjustment, 13% is there and without adjustment almost, say, 20%. This 7-8% which has come from Orient, also Orient and Penna, is nothing but coming from this integration and penetration of this brand of Ambuja and ACC. They have also helped us to improve with a better price realization. I’m very happy with this transition.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Just clarifying this one thing, like geographies.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Of north and west where ACC is specifically A or a. Is it the same positioning in south also where you know ACC is not present like your AP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu? Just wanted that quick clarity.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: No. I think from a policy perspective both Ambuja and ACC remain as A category brands in India including South.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Understood.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: This is very helpful, sir. Thanks a lot.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we’ll take this as the last question for today. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Deepak Balwani. Over to you, sir.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Yeah, thank you. I trust most of the questions have been addressed.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Should you wish to discuss any outstanding query, we are available for a separate.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Conversation from 5:20 to 5:45 P.M. today. You have my contact number.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Please feel free to call me.

Satyam Kesarwani, Representative, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you.

Deepak Balwani, Head of Investment, ACC: Thank you, Nidhi. Thank you, everyone, on behalf of self and Rakesh. Thank you again.

Rakesh Tiwari, CFO, ACC: Thank you.

Nidhi, Conference Moderator, Prabhudas Lilladher: Thank you very much. On behalf of Prabhudas Lilladher Private Limited, that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining us. You may now disconnect your lines.

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